Abhoration and the Alternative
by Mina1
Summary: Warning! VERY old story, not well written. Leaving it here for posterity! A diplomatic mission for Luke, Han and Leia is plunged into grief as an old threat returns to finish what it began. Think of this as the sequel to Truce at Bakura.
1. Episode One

Disclaimer - If I had a republic credit for every time I've read a disclaimer like this one, I might be as rich as George Lucas. But I don't, and George has made his money from the characters I'm temporarily borrowing for this jaunt around his universe. 

Creative criticisms are welcome but flames will find a home in my deleted folder. Also, I make spelling mistakes - sorry. However, if you think an s' should be a z' or there's a spare u' floating around - I'm English: that's the way we spell. Proper like.

This was my first attempt at any kind of fanfiction and took 2 years of on-off writing to complete (this is the first of 8 equally large episodes) hence the writing quality increases as you read. Please be patient and bear with me: this was written before Vision of the Future (although I've weaved bits in to make more sense) and you'll have to ignore the KJA version of what happened to the ssi-ruuk (from the encyclopaedia)

Setting: just after the Corellian trilogy, about 15 yrs post ROTJ. 

Thanks go Cadburys for their hot chocolate. Ta.

Mina – Vikki18@totalise.co.uk

_(this is a pretty old fanfic I've just reformatted after a bout of writers block.)_

It is a time of peace. Years of struggling against enemies within and without has forged the way for a New Republic. The Corellian crisis has ended, the galaxy has settled down and the Republic's leaders can concentrate on relations rather than defence.

But out of sight trouble is brewing. Treachery and vengeance breeds contempt, and the Republic's greatest hopes will become their greatest fears...

But beyond this, an enemy long forgotten is stirring. Fired with the thirst for revenge and moving forward with deadly purpose. Coruscant must move against this, now, or the price to pay will be far higher than the fragile Republic can possibly afford.

Abhoration and the Alternative 

**Episode One**

Prologue

He had to smile. Karrde had always been a tad overprotective of his employees, but this was just a little ridiculous. Still, it suited him just fine -he needed a break from the pressure of working out here on the rim with groups of unorganised and difficult mercenaries and this mission should be a walk in the park. He settled back into the curves of the captains chair and turned his mind to thinking about the next few hours; it wasn't that he really needed to; this was, after all, a reconnaissance mission. Nothing special, but it would give him something to think about instead of watching the mottled vista of hyperspace he could see out of the bridge. If you looked at that too much it sent you giddy. It was better to think about something, no matter how mindless, than to stare at it too long.   
  
"5 minutes to realspace Captain," his nav officer called.  
  
"Thanks Dankin," he replied easily "Be ready to jump back to hyper' quickly in case we run into any trouble."  
  
A quiet murmur of laughter spread across the bridge. They all knew as well as he did that this was a token mission. He should really quiet them, but then, this wasn't a military ship and he liked to think of all these people as his close friends, so he'd let it slide.  
  
"1 minute." Dankin got his hands ready on the hyperspace levers.   
He noticed how easily Dankin fell back into the role of navigator after having been captain of his own ship for years now.  
  
"30 seconds." The bridge crew began to tense.  
  
"Ready on the guns." He said needlessly. His crew wasn't trigger-happy, but they were prepared, no matter how harmless the situation seemed.  
  
"10." Dankin gripped the levers harder.  
  
He counted down and on '1' he pulled back the hyperspace-lever. The stars reappeared, stretched and out of proportion. Space returned and Dankin caught his breath. A smallish yellow planet turned on the bottom half of the bridge's front screen, one of its moons sluggishly following it. But it wasn't the planet that had made Dankin start. Three large ovoid cruisers were heading straight for them, turbolasers blazing.  
  
"Full evasive!" He shouted,   
  
"Torr, Cait, get on the forward quads." The captain shouted after a heartbeat of adrenaline-induced shock.  
  
He was already out of his chair and heading for the nav station. The cruisers grew larger on the screen, bristling with weapons and bearing rapidly down on them.   
  
"Get me a reading on those weapons." He clipped as he made his way to hang just behind Dankin's shoulder "How fast can we jump back?".   
  
Dankin turned to look at him. His face gave the answer away before he said it, "Captain, they've got interdictor cruisers already coming up behind us. We're here for the duration." Dankin said.  
  
He nodded, turning back to face the sensor station for the report.   
  
A fresh-faced man hurried over "Sir," he shoved a datapad into the Captain's hands and gestured to a bunch of figures displayed on it. "The computer's never seen anything like them before, but we count at last 200 turbolaser emplacements, and a whole bunch of ports that could be anything from proton torpedo bays to tractor beams. Whatever, I think the weapons are the last of our problems: look at those shield readings..."  
  
The Captain stared down at the 'pad, finding the reading, and whistled softly. "Okay, get back and try and find a weakness." He said to the boy, turning to the comm panel and flicking the intra-ship communications on, hitting the alert-button so that all the ship except for the bridge resounded with the urgent noise of a siren,   
  
"Everyone, this is Aves, if you haven't got a battle station to go to, strap down, were going into battle and it looks like it might get a little rough. Watch your backs." He flicked it off again and moved back behind Dankin.  
  
The cruisers filled the viewscreen now. "Dankin, turn us around, we're going after those interdictors." Dankin nodded and had the ship swinging around as the captain moved back to his seat. They were hopelessly outgunned, but they weren't out yet.  
  
"Are Torr and Cait there yet? Good, patch me in." He waited a heartbeat "Torr, Cait, keep your fire on those interdictors if you can, were not going to be able to take out those cruisers, so we're going to have to run for it. Got that?" When they confirmed he turned back to Dankin "Try and keep them as shielded from those cruisers as possible."  
  
"Aye, Captain."  
  
The cruiser let go a hail of small black ships that descended onto the larger freighter, raking it with turbolaser fire. Torr and Cait shot back but the shields soaked up the energy like it was nothing, coming around again and again to fry weapons circuits onboard the ship. There was the distinct smell of burning on the bridge.   
  
"Deak!" He called to the comm station "Can you get a message out to Karrde?"   
  
The young man clung to his console as the ship rocked under turbolaser fire, "Will do captain!" He yelled over the chaos of people shouting orders to each other.   
  
"They're coming round for another pass." Dankin said, a quite note of resolution in his voice.  
  
"None of that, Dankin." He warned him, though he too couldn't see a way out of this one, the small black fighters were simply too fast.  
  
Suddenly the ship lurched to the side throwing them all of their feet. Deak's console exploded in a shower of sparks and molten metal. The young man was dead before he hit the floor.   
  
"Damage report." He shouted over the warning sirens, picking himself up the floor.   
  
"Sir, we've lost Cait."   
  
A cold lump formed in his throat. She'd been with him for years now.  
  
"Incoming!!" someone shouted.   
  
He didn't have time to react; the ship lurched and threw him violently into a bulkhead. He felt bone snap as he hit the wall and collapsed to the floor. His last glance showed him the look of horror on Dankins' face as the ship dived uncontrollably towards the yellow planet now filling the cockpit's screen.   
  
His own terror swelled up inside him before his thoughts fled away with his consciousness.

Chapter one: while you were sleeping...

The shuttle moved sleekly out of orbit and banked slowly down towards the planet turning serenely below. Sunlight played across the hull as it neared the bright blue/green world shrouded in a thick swirling mass of cloud. Ships broke the atmosphere and climbed for space leaving a few wispy trails of cloud behind. Luke Skywalker stared out of the view port and watched the world spin by.  
  
The shuttle entered the upper atmosphere with deceptive ease, shedding speed as it went. Locally the weather was clear and silent; breaking through the upper atmosphere the shuttle lifted up again, then headed down towards a group of bright lights that represented the largest spaceport the planet had to offer. Taking his eyes off the spectacular view he turned to look at the other passengers. Leia lay with her head in Han's lap: sleeping off the months of negotiations and bureaucratic double talk it had taken them to get even this far. They should wake her, really, but somehow they didn't have the heart.   
  
Han sat fidgeting in his seat: unhappy with having to sit back and let someone else pilot, alternating between staring out his window and glancing absently at the sleeping Leia's discarded notes.  
  
The shuttle settled with a soft hiss and a final whine from the repulsors. Han looked down at Leia, bent and whispered something in her ear, she opened her eyes and smiled widely.  
  
"Well, your worshipfullness, looks like you got your wish for a holiday. Cassrine is certainly away from it all." Han said. She threw him a rye look.  
  
Trying to get her hair back into some resemblance of a style, she said, "Why do you think I picked this mission?"   
  
"Point. Ready, Luke?" Han was already moving for the exit. Luke moved to stare out the open door with him.  
  
"I guess so. Leia, isn't someone supposed to meet us?"  
  
"No, didn't I tell you? We're going to meet with them tomorrow. Something about the time zones being wrong."   
  
"Oh, great." Han said sarcastically "So how do we find our hotel then?"   
  
Leia looked up, annoyed despite herself. "I _had_ thought of that." There was an awkward moment of silence until Leia continued, "I've got a map, it should be with these data files." She brandished a bag and started rummaging through it.  
  
"Ermm...." Luke started,   
  
"You're right, we should get off the ship first."   
  
"Don't _do_ that," Han said mock menacingly "I swear you're getting worse at it."   
  
Leia smiled widely, "Like listening to half a conversation? Sorry."   
  
She headed for the shuttle door.   
  
  
---  
  
  
The world outside was revealed to be hot and uncomfortably sticky: a blast of hot air hit them as they stepped out from the temperature-controlled shuttle, descending the ramp to a gravelled spaceport surface. There were ships of various sorts and several were probably of dubious backgrounds. Some were obscured by metal gang trees with techs crawling all over them, others were loading and unloading goods; again she suspected not all of legitimate sources. A shabby cantina was on one side of the port, looking very neglected but probably well used.   
  
"Not exactly high-tech." Han muttered. Leia ignored the comment, mainly because she had to agree.  
  
"That looks promising." She said to Luke, pointing to a large prefab structure next to the cantina.   
  
"Some form of customs?" Luke asked dubiously. The lack of any proper control for entry onto and leave from the planet certainly reinforced Leia's suspicions about the illegal nature of the cargo being loaded onto those ships, and of course their captains.  
  
"Tell me again why were trying to get this lot to join the republic." Han said, looking round the shabby landing pad and arching a doubtful eyebrow.  
  
Leia shrugged off her annoyance "The Cassrine haven't been in space all that long: galactically speaking that is. A lot of what you see here comes from other cultures who imposed their own ideas on them. They're supposed to be a highly cultured race: this spaceport was built by the Empire during the time it occupied Cassrine, until a few years ago. I guess they haven't got round to changing it yet."   
  
The shuttle rose behind them and with a flair of repulsors climbed for space.  
  
"Hmmmm" Han said, a little too sarcastically for her taste, "We better go find some of this _culture _of yours then, though I don't see what they can offer the Republic."   
  
Leia turned to face him, "Han, the Republic's not just about what we can get from others, it's about what-"  
  
"Spare me the speech Leia. All I meant was its getting dark." He pointed a hand towards the sky "If we don't find this hotel soon, we'll never find it." He started to walk towards the building. Leia threw a glare at his back.   
  
"Relax," Luke said, moving to stand beside her "He's just trying to rile you"  
  
She turned her glare on him, "Oh, and that makes it all right?"   
  
Luke flinched. "Leia..."   
  
She softened as she looked into his face and rubbed a hand across her face. "Sorry." She said quietly "It's just, well, we haven't been getting along well recently,"  
  
"I'd noticed."  
  
"I guess we're both tired: we've hardly seen anything of each other lately." She trailed off, staring absently towards the huge building. Taking a deep breath and getting her composure back, "Come on, it _is_ getting dark."  
  
  
---  
  
  
They managed to find their way through the old customs building, policed by a single guard, who didn't bother to either search them or wish them a nice trip. The holovid proved far more interesting for him. When Han had commented sarcastically on the lack of security, Leia had pointed out that it was just the sort of place Han would have loved just a few back. His pride ruffled by the reminder of just how _respectable_ he was becoming, Han didn't comment further on the state of the spaceport. The local form of public transport, a ground-based train system called the trans-line, carried them to the main terminal for their connection to their meeting with the planet governors. Or at least, that had been the plan.  
  
In contrast to the landing pad, the terminal was a cavernous and ancient building, with an arched transparisteel ceiling crossed with durasteel girders that filtered through what little sunlight was getting through the rain clouds. Rain clouds which were responsible for both the throngs of dripping tourists and businessmen, as well as for the many trans-line carriers grounded on their platforms. The public-relations officials in their crisp red suits were not happy.  
  
Han stood glaring at one particularly intimidated official, waving their tickets in front of him   
  
"Look," he said, a bit too loudly "All we want is to get to our hotel, is that so much to ask for?"   
  
The official stuttered, "I'm sorry sir. Most of the carriers are down due to the storm. Unfortunately, those which are running, aren't going in the direction you would like to travel in. You'll have to take the trans-line which is going nearest, which I'm afraid will still be several kilometres away from you're destination, or stay here tonight."   
  
He took the opportunity of Han's moment of thought to scurry away, moving to a group of slightly less intimidating though no less irate tourists.  
  
Han turned to face Luke and Leia. "So much for that idea. I told you it'd never work. Luke, can't you just..."   
  
"No."  
  
"Why not? I mean, it's not like its gonna hurt anyone and-"   
  
Rather than looking exasperated, Luke just looked mildly amused, "Han, I can just make people do what I want them to just because it's convenient."  
  
Han looked slightly disgusted; "You Jedi are no fun sometimes. Well, I guess that means we stay here tonight because the trans-line goes nowhere near where we need to be. Which hotel though...." Han forced his way through the crowds of dripping wet aliens and over to a public info terminal. Studying the terminal for a moment, he began experimentally punching keys.   
  
As they forced their way through the crowded building to join him, Luke felt something brush the back of his neck. His automatic reaction was to move his hand to search for whatever had hit him. Nothing. Luke frowned and looked around the crowd but got no help there. Probably just an insect bite, then.   
  
He listened to Han and Leia argue over which hotel looked the best. This was going to be a long trip. So far they hadn't stopped arguing since they'd got here and Luke was beginning to get tired of it.   
  
They stood inside the small booth, which Leia noted with some disgust was badly in need of a clean. The storm had come on very suddenly: apparently there was nothing unusual about that. Cassrine's climate was not unlike Coruscant's for it sudden and violent storms. The heating unit in the booth was obviously shot.  
  
Luke shivered; despite the wretched weather he hadn't expected it to be this cool. He felt an ache in the back of his neck and his eyes hurt. Shutting them against a strange dizziness he was feeling, he rubbed the nape of his neck and tried channelling the Force to take away the increasing pain.   
  
Someone was saying his name. He should answer. He should open his eyes, should answer them.  
  
"Luke? Are you all right? Luke?"  
  
With an effort he opened his eyes "Yeah." His voice didn't sound too good. He swallowed and tried again,  
  
"Yeah I'm fine, why?"  
  
"You look pale, buddy, what's wrong?" Han said, staring intently at Luke's face.  
  
"I'm fine, really, I just felt a bit dizzy for a while." They didn't look convinced but Luke changed the subject.  
  
"So, where are we staying then?"   
  
With a last dubious look in his direction Leia answered, "The only place with any room left is here, on the outskirts of town. She pointed on the display to an isolated building surrounded by dense woodlands. We'll need to take the trans-line though."   
  
The dizziness was fading but the pain in his neck refused to go, "Great, lets get moving then."   
  
  
---  
  
  
The hotel was better than she had expected. It was large, obviously exclusive (and it should be, she thought, considering what it was going to cost for them to stay here) and set in large grounds of dense woodland. She was told that the tropical woods extended a long way past the back of the hotel and provided some beautiful walking areas, when the sun shined. From the trans-line terminal they had taken a speeder out to the hotel. Leia looked at Luke: she could tell something was wrong without even using the Force. He was unnaturally pale and quite, staring out at the torrential rain. His arms were crossed across his stomach in what she thought was a slightly foetal position.  
  
_Luke_ she sent. Luke startled out of his daze and turned to look at her.  
  
_I'm okay, really  
  
You're not, what's wrong?_ He seemed to consider trying to convince her he was okay, then thought again.  
  
_It's probably nothing_ Leia looked at Luke and frowned. "Luke..." she started.   
  
Han interrupted with a gasp, "Wow... would you look at that." The speeder had turned a bend in the road so that their hotel was visible "Okay Leia, I guess you were right about culture after all."   
  
The huge building loomed over them as they approached. It was huge and elegant; spiralling to great heights without even a hint of the blocky architecture of the spaceport. It glistened white in the moonlight, light shone out the windows warmly. Leia thought the style reminded her of Alderaan: like a house she'd been to her in her childhood. As the speeder drew to a stop before the massive double doors Leia and Han jumped out the speeder making a dash for the dry foyer. Luke following slightly more slowly and came to stand next to Han: hair wet and hanging over his face, blinking it out of his eyes he said,   
  
"I'm not sure they're going to appreciate us" Leia looked them up and down. They all looked half drowned, and out of the 3 of them she was the only one dressed for such an exclusive hotel. Han wore his old top and trousers that he felt so confident in, even though before they'd left Leia had argued that they might need to appear smart. Luke wasn't much better; he wore just an old black top and trousers, and she hadn't even tried to persuade him to dress smart. It wasn't like she'd ever been able persuade him of anything. She wasn't the only headstrong one in the Skywalker line.  
  
"How long have you two had those clothes anyway? I'd swear you wore the same stuff at Endor."  
  
"Hey!" Han said, "I've only had these a couple of years, thank you. " Leia grinned.  
  
Luke just shrugged "The same. They're just more comfortable."  
  
"We'll just have to sweet-talk them, I guess." She replied and stepped into the huge hallway.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Han dragged their sodden bags into the room and dumped them on the floor. Water ran of their sides and puddled on the floor. He turned back to see Leia step in and shut the door behind her, and then brush disgustedly at her clothes.   
  
I'm glad we didn't have to travel tonight, anyway. It's starting to get really heavy out there." She said, wandering into the room and casting an expert eye over the furnishings before dropping into the sofa.   
  
Luke wandered past her, a distracted look on his face as he went to look out the window. She watched him, then turned back to Han, "I'm still not sure about using fake ID's Han, maybe we should have told them who we were, it wouldn't do any harm." She spied the mirror over in a corner and walked over to it. "Oh my--" She gasped when she got a look at the strangled halo of wet hair that had previously been her neat braids.   
  
"No one's going to know where to contact us." She continued, tugging at the pins that held the drenched strands in place. Han came to stand up beside her, brushing at his own drenched features. She stifled a grin and bit down a remark about his vanity. He didn't like her bringing it up.   
  
"That was the point, Leia. A little bit of privacy - remember? Besides, I'll call Winter and tell her where we are."  
  
She smiled warmly at him, the last of the braid falling limp over her shoulders. She wandered over to their bags to dig out a brush. "Yeah, maybe. I'm surprised they bought it, really."   
  
She'd expected Luke to come in at this point and mention it hadn't been the most honest use of a mind trick.  
  
He didn't. Instead, he continued to stare out the window and at the rain. She turned towards him,   
  
"Luke?" When he didn't answer she touched his shoulder lightly. He jumped, startled, and whirled to face her. "What's wrong?"   
  
He gazed past her as he spoke "Nothing, I think I just need some air." He answered absently.   
  
Leia stared into his face, not sure what to say. "Luke, it's throwing it down out there. At least wait till it stops." she said, walking back over to place the brush on a table. Luke looked back at her, and she could feel him trying to find a way out of this. He looked around the room like a caged animal. "Luke, you really don't look too good- " she started.   
  
"I'm fine, Leia. I think I need some air, that's all." She looked over at Han, he just shrugged. She frowned, but she wasn't going to stop him if he really wanted to, and besides, some time to themselves would be nice.   
  
Luke was already at the door. "At least put something warm on." She said, feeling like his mother.   
  
He smiled at that, " I'm not going for long. See you tomorrow." He walked out, shutting the door quietly behind him. She stared at the door for a long while, a nasty feeling in the pit of her stomach. Han came up beside her and took her hand,   
  
"Come on, your worship. He'll be fine..." With a resigned sigh, she tuned back with Han to find some dry clothes.   
  
  
---  
  
  
Luke wandered down the little used pathways. At first it had started out as a wide trail but now he was having to concentrate on his walking to keep from tripping or loosing the path. That was good. It kept his mind from wandering: kept him from thinking too much. The pain behind his eye's wouldn't go away, at times it was horribly intense, at others it's was a mild but constant ache. The path was treacherous: Luke lost his footing and slipped, catching a wet branch to break his fall. This was ridiculous, even on Yavin4 he'd never had any trouble traversing the jungles: and this was _not_ Yavin4.   
  
Climbing back to his feet and trying to shake off the sense of dread: of something impending that had fallen over his consciousness like a black cloud, he considered going back to the hotel. But the heat: the recycled, cleaned air, all of it had seemed so suffocating: he'd had to get out of there, he'd needed the fresh air: the quite of the forest, he couldn't go back. He turned and stared at the welcoming hotel, rain washed down his face: his hair clung to his head and fell in his eyes. He had come out here for a reason: what had that reason been? He sighed: his thoughts were dazed and confused: running away from him even as he tried to think. He couldn't remember what he was doing out here.   
  
He walked on.   
  
The rain beat mercilessly down and the cold permeated his aching body. He came to another branch in the road. Taking the path on the right he walked deeper into forest. You could easily get lost in these woods if you wandered too much, but standing bright and clear like a homing beacon behind him was the hotel: he would find a way back if he needed to. For now Luke concentrated on the forest ahead. He could sense its vastness by the living creatures within it. There was life everywhere, all adding to the deep stream that was the force, adding to and amplifying it.   
  
Luke rested against a sodden tree, and let his mind relax into the tidal flood of life energy. What was he doing out here? Back in the hotel it had seemed so, so..._necessary._ Now it just seemed foolish. There had been a reason, he knew there had been one. What _was_ it? Frustration ate at the corners of his mind as he tried to think straight, tried to gather his thoughts but they crumbled like dust in his hands and died.   
  
_Use the Force, Luke! The Force!!  
  
_What?   
  
Who said that?   
  
It was a half remembered voice...  
  
Ben!   
  
No, Ben was gone, was it his own subconsciousness? He seemed to hear himself; it felt so long ago,  
  
"Something has been damaged. Find it. Heal it, Fight back."  
  
_Heal it!  
  
_Whoever, whatever it was, he heard the truth in the statement. No more hesitation, no more confusion, he hadn't the time; suddenly he knew. Knew that he must trust the voice. He must trust himself.  
  
Unquestioning, he stretched out to the Force. He brought it to him, sought to wrap it around himself, to cure whatever it was that was making him so ill.   
  
_That _was why he was out here: the quite, to touch the Force fully. Now he had the time and the quite to, Luke traced the ebb and flow of his own mental presence in the Force, he felt the beat of life, the inescapable chaos of life.   
  
He concentrated and felt something else. Like a scorch mark on his presence and growing. Growing fast.  
  
Forcing down panic and fear, he concentrated all the strength he had to seek out the mark, sought to suffocate it and to destroy it. But its touch was slippery and no matter how his mind tried to grasp it, his touch fell short of the mark.   
  
Where had it come from? A raking pain clawed up his spine and threw him violently out of the Force. His legs gave way and he collapsed to the drenched ground, sinking into the mud.   
  
Something ran through his veins, something burned him from the inside. What? How? He would have felt anything like that long ago, He_ would _have known. Wouldn't he?   
  
Images swirled in front of him; whatever it was, it was hallucinogenic. Gasping for breath, his mind spun memories of things he'd never even experienced, so that they attacked him, betrayed him, lied to him; so that he believed them.   
  
He tried to gain his feet under him, or was that another illusion? He thought he heard someone crying, did he? It wasn't _real_. He knew it was, he knew, didn't he?  
  
_"I loved you as a friend, and as a student, as a son"  
  
"Forgive me if I fail to say you impress me"  
  
"You destroyed my life!"  
  
"I can't stay with you Luke..."  
  
"When I look at you it seems like a vital part of you has been burned away by what you've gone through. If that's what it takes to become a Jedi maybe I don't want the job!"  
  
"They don't trust you."  
  
"I am your father"  
  
"Now, young Skywalker, You will die."  
  
_"No!!!" He screamed, his mind in agony as the visions flicked before him, as accusing faces glared at him, as the Emperor leered in the anticipation of his death. He screwed his eyes tight and tried to stop the storm from washing over him. Taking up the last of his strength he shouted Leia through the Force, but he knew it was a barely heard whisper. Again and again he called, but to no response. She _was_ there, that much he could sense, but she didn't answer.   
  
His consciousness was sinking beneath the illusions towards a black night. He was exhausted; his last effort was to pull back inside himself. He was dying, that was all he knew, that was all that was true. All else was an illusion, figures conjured from his dreams; from his nightmares.   
  
"I am dying. Will Leia know?" his thought said, even as it fell apart. "I can't find the Force. I will truly die, then." But then his thought fled far away as a black flood took him.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Leia lay, her head resting on Han's shoulder. The comm beeped for attention as it had done for the past 2 minutes. Couldn't she be free of calls out here? It was probably just some bureaucrat wanting her advice on some minor point: she could ignore it. The bed was warm and she was finally relaxed: it could wait. The noise continued relentlessly, throwing the covers back she dashed to the unit and hit the "quite" button. She dived back into bed, curled up tighter and pulled the duvet over her head. She was _not_ awake.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Han was already dressed when she woke. Pushing scattered hair from her face she stretched, Han turned and smiled.  
  
"Good night?" He asked,  
  
"Mmmm" She said, "I haven't slept like that for ages." She looked out the window; it hadn't stopped raining yet, but it looked a little brighter. She felt strange for some reason, something she couldn't quite put her finger on... Well; it was probably just waking up in a strange bed. Han sat down next to her.  
  
"Want to guess the time?" Now that she looked out the window it did look brighter than she would expect of early morning.   
  
"Enlighten me." She said.   
  
Han grinned "An hour before noon."   
  
Leia startled... the meeting!! Han held up a hand before she could speak. "It's okay, we got a mail last night just before you went bed; their delaying the meeting to give us time to get settled in the other hotel.  
  
"Thanks Han."   
  
Han gave her his best confused look "Me?"   
  
"Yes, you...." she said smiling now too.  
  
Han made a face "Can't keep anything from you can I?" He stood up and moved to do up his boots.   
  
"No." Leia said with a straight face as she stepped out of bed. "Where's the luggage?" She asked after she couldn't find it in any of the wardrobes.   
  
"Ermm...where we left it in the lounge last night."   
  
Leia smiled. "Right."  
  
She opened the huge doors that opened into the lounge area. She spied the luggage in a corner and walked towards it, something still flicked at her consciousness but she couldn't focus on it. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a flashing on the comm unit: incoming message. She walked over to it, was about to turn it on when she realised she wasn't exactly dressed to take calls. Pulling out a pair of trousers and top she hurriedly dressed. Sweeping her hair back behind her head and tying it in a knot she sat down at the unit and pressed "receive". One of the girls on the front desk turned to face her with a professional smile.   
  
"Mrs Antilles?" She said, using the fake but common name they had given the desk, not pausing to let Leia answer, "Apparently our records show that you had a repeated call last night from an unknown source, listed as urgent."   
  
Urgent? Leia frowned. Maybe it had been more than a bureaucratic call after all. The woman continued "Would you like us to notify the source that you are now taking calls? Although the source is classified, we call still call out and notify it that you are available."  
  
"Yes please do, thank you." The woman on screen disappeared and Leia waited for the call to come in. Han walked in, saw her at the terminal and walked over.  
  
"What's wrong?" He asked, obviously not at all surprised that something would be wrong.  
  
"I'm not sure..." Leia answered. The screen showed a blast of static then started to rearrange itself.  
  
"Coming from a long way away." Han muttered.   
  
The face of their 7 year old son appeared on the screen, "Anakin!" Leia said, surprised, and then her eyes caught up with her mind: his face was pinched in anguish and his eyes were red and swollen "Anakin...what's wrong?" She asked.   
  
"Mom! Where have you been? What's happened to uncle Luke?" Leia's mind froze.  
  
_Luke!_ Her mind numbed. _That_ was what had been tugging on her mind.  
  
Vaguely, she heard Han say "Luke? Luke's fine, kid."  
  
Leia felt her voice choke in her throat "No, he's not." She said.   
  
"Mom, I felt... I... he's gone isn't he?" Leia squeezed her eyes shut.   
  
Somehow, she knew Anakin was right. Clinging to the chairs arm she stretched out for her brothers comforting presence: she was no Jedi but she and Luke had always been ...connected. She stretched but felt only a black vacuum where he should have been. Nothing. He wasn't there.  
  
Han looked at Leia, at Anakin; didn't understand what was going on. Luke was fine, wasn't he?   
  
"Anakin, what's wrong? Did you have a bad dream?" He asked, not sure what else could have caused such an emotional reaction in his son.  
  
"No, I...."  
  
Leia opened her eyes, told herself to breathe, tried to gather her thoughts, to force down the panic that had started to rise in her. She breathed deep. Luke had gone out last night; he hadn't looked too good. No, that wasn't true. Leia had let Luke leave last night, knowing in her heart that _something_, something intangible was wrong. And she had _let_ him go.  
  
Guilt washed over her, she let herself feel it. What had she done? What had her selfishness, her need to be with Han, cost her brother?   
  
"Anakin, what did you see?" Anakin blanched from her gaze, looked at his feet. He didn't want to remember, she realised. Had it been _that _bad?  
  
"Anakin..."  
  
"I, uh-" His voice broke off, squeezing his eyes shut he continued, "there was rain and woods, trees. I saw Uncle Luke, he wasthere was pain and confusion. Then he..." The colour drained from his face,  
  
"Go on honey, we have to know, we have to find him." Leia urged,  
  
"It hurt." Anakin said at last, his voice a hoarse whisper, "it hurt and... he was calling out, mom, but no one was answering. _No one _came." Then Leia heard it, it was so well hidden from her that she might not have felt it; her son was accusing her. Her son blamed her for not answering Luke. Where had she been that his uncle could not have reached her?   
  
Where had she _been_?  
  
"Anakin, I-" What should she say? That she had been with Han? She shut her mind from her sons silent hurt.  
  
_Luke_ she thought, stretching out again to the Force. "I'm going to try and find him." She heard herself whisper.  
  
It felt strange reaching out to the Force like this. Whenever she had touched it so deeply before it had been with Luke. Then he had been a firm presence guiding her. Now, she felt like she was floundering in the dark. Locking out all other awareness, she concentrated on the presence of her brother, what the touch of his mind normally felt like. Tried to find something, anything familiar. The Force was around her, touching her as she touched it. It was clear and open to her, but it was vast. Where to look? She focused on the forest, felt its life beat, scanned it, searching for a sign, any sign.   
  
Her mind slipped across a part of the Force that felt burned and confused. It was in turmoil, the careful balance broken and destroyed. Breathing deep, she tried to focus closer on it. The Force erupted in chaos around her, screaming at her but she couldn't understand what it was saying. She thought she heard Luke whisper, _Leia.  
  
_She thought she saw him lying in the mud, the rain heavy, his eyes squeezed shut in pain. Blood was running down his face  
  
_Leia_, _please._   
  
She felt a black cloud smother her; her brothers' panicked thoughts fell silent.  
Horrified, Leia recoiled from the vision, her mind adding to the turmoil in the force. It felt suffocating, closing in on her.  
  
He's dead. It whispered to her.  
  
And you did _nothing_ to help him.  
  
_How could you?  
  
_Leia ran from the Force. She broke out and gasped for air. Trying her best to mask her face - for Anakin's sake- she rose shakily out of the chair. Out of view, she let herself fall to the ground. Han looked at her, then back at Anakin.  
  
"Anakin." He said, "When was this? When did you" Dream wasn't the right word "...see this?"  
  
"About midday here, but I don't know when that was where you are. Seven hours ago, maybe. Dad, you have to find him, he-" Han looked at his youngest son, realised that there could be nothing he could say to him until they found Luke alive, except perhaps a few words of comfort.   
  
"He'll be all right, your uncle's a survivor, don't worry. When we find him, you'll be the first to know." Anakin, looked in to his fathers eyes and Han was struck -not for the first time- by just how much he resembled Luke, the fiery intensity behind those eyes....  
  
"Promise?"  
  
"I promise." He let Anakin close the connection first, then reached across and turned the screen off. Leia was sat on the floor, head bowed in her hands. Tentatively, Han touched her shoulder.  
  
"Leia..." She jumped and whirled around, her face streaked with tears.  
  
"Han, he's... he's dead. I felt it. Just like Anakin said. And, and he's not there. Do you understand? He's not _there_!" He moved to hold her but she pulled away, "And I didn't feel a thing." She whispered.  
  
"Leia, you're jumping to conclusions. We have to go find him. For all you know, that was the future you saw..." he broke of when he saw the look on Leia's face  
  
"No, it was the past." She said, more certain of it than she had ever been of anything in her life. "I saw him, Han. He was bleeding, and" She didn't know how to describe it "cold."   
  
Han felt desperate. He needed to go out there and find Luke, but he also needed to be here to comfort Leia. How could she be so certain of this? How could she trust this...vision...so completely? Another crazy Jedi thing, probably.   
  
"You're right," she said "we have to find him."   
  
Han bit back a comment about her reading his thoughts; now wasn't the time. She seemed to pull on some inner strength, started for the door, a haunted look still in her eyes.  
  
  
---  
  
  
The rain bit at her face and the wind pushed damp, clammy hair into her eyes. Annoyed, she pushed it out of her way. Her sodden, ruined shoes skidded along the forest path, struggling to gain a grip on the treacherous ground, splashing thick mud up her legs. Thrusting sharp claw-like branches from her path and ignoring the pain if they hit back at her and contacted when she let go, Leia plunged through the forest with burning tears running down her cheeks. The rain didn't help, it blinded her, chilled her, reminded her of her vision. Her hair lay limp and clinging to her skull, her hands scratched and bloodied as she forsook haste for speed and the forest undergrowth ripped at her skin. Pulling herself over the fallen hulk of a huge tree, and landing in a heap in the clayey mud behind it, she paused to give her shaken feet a rest.  
In the old days, she thought, in the old days I wouldn't have been hindered by my own clothing: wouldn't have listened to my aching legs.  
  
In the old days I wouldn't have realised just exactly what it was that I'd lost.  
  
Despair and panic swept over her in equal parts as she thought of Luke lying bloodied and dying somewhere in this forest. Dying , and she was stopping to catch her breath. Angry and disgusted at herself, she pushed of from the tree and plunged down the steep path, only defined by the flowing torrent of mud as it flowed down the steep hill. She bit back stinging tears. She would _not_ cry. She was Leia Organa Solo, ex freedom fighter ,president to the new republic, Princess of the destroyed world of Alderaan, and sister to man who had taken down Darth Vader: she would not cry. Not until they found his body, not until she looked into his face and knew he was dead.  
  
She wondered what could possibly have happened to him. Luke had always been so secure in her life: sometimes he seemed invincible: certainly she'd never seen anyone beat in him combat, but then the vision hadn't felt like he'd been fighting, he seemed more confused, somehow. What had been so powerful that he hadn't been able to fight it off?   
  
Han came running down the slope behind her: shouting her to stop. She barely heard him, the driving wind and rain throwing his words back at him. The wind seemed to howl through the trees in mocking laughter. She rubbed tears from her eyes. She would _not_ cry. The path forked, again. Again she chose on instinct the path she thought Luke would have taken. She could have stood before it deliberating over which path was right and still have been no closer to knowing: still have chosen on impulse. She seemed to remember Luke's voice. "You have to give the force more control." He had said that a lot to her in their training sessions, during the moments she had managed to snatch between council meetings and diplomatic visits  
  
_I'm sorry Luke. I'm so sorry_, she thought into the Force, hoping beyond hope that he would hear her. Bitterly now did she regret not training fully, it mixed with the sour taste off the rain, the salt of her tears. She would _not_ cry.  
  
A huge buttress stuck out into the path. She caught her foot on it, tripped and fell to the ground. Mud and water swirled around her, seemed to envelop her. And she longed for the darkness, for peace from this hell of not knowing, of being so afraid of what she knew to be true. She welcomed the darkness.   
  
Two strong hands clasped her under her arms and pulled her to her feet.  
  
"Leia..." Han said.   
  
Before she had resisted his comfort, now she collapsed into it, despite the urgency her mind felt to keep moving. She sobbed. Wrenching, heartfelt sobs of pain and grief. Tears that tore Han apart as he tried to comfort; her even as his own mind chased itself in circles. Gathering long, wet hair in his hands, he held her to him, allowing her pain and loss to flow through him.  
  
"It'll be all right." He whispered into her ear. She pulled away from him: small and scared and frightened.  
  
"No, it won't." She said with such assurety that Han stayed quite. His cool, confident, independent Leia broke down into hysterics. "He's not there!!" She screamed her voice rising high and scratchy "I didn't feel it! I didn't feel _him_!! He would have, if it were me! Its _my_ fault !!!" Rain washed down her faced as she screamed at the injustice of it all, as she screamed at Force, at the planet, at herself. Painful guilt and shame washed over her as she allowed herself to feel what she really felt. It bent her double, made her want to cry out, but she took it.   
  
"Its _my_ fault." She whispered at last, falling into Han's embrace.   
  
Rain fell around them, the promised sun of morning dying under its assault.  
  
At last Han lifted his head, gently moving Leia from him, he said "Come on. Lets go back for help." He started to pull back up the path with him, but she hung back, staring into the forest  
  
"I can't." She said, "I have to carry on." Her voice was stronger now, more certain, more true to herself.  
  
"He's here, somewhere." Her eyes seemed to glaze over. Luke was powerful, his...pain...when he had died had ripped through the Force, she thought she could feel a trace of him, a footprint left in the Force.  
  
"I have to go on." The conviction in her voice and face, eyes more alert now, lips still pinched in pain but no longer trembling from inner guilt, was enough to silence any protest from Han. He nodded and headed back up the path alone. Struggling past the mud flow, he turned back to look at her.  
  
"We'll find him, I promise." She watched his lithe figure disappear into the trees. Leia started to run down the path again after her brother.  
  
_Luke_ she thought into the void she ran towards.

Chapter 2 : Everything to loose...

Han stumbled up the slopes towards the hotel, using branched and exposed roots to haul him up past the torrent of mud.   
  
The day was dark now, it didn't feel like noon; more like midnight. And it was cold to. Too cold.   
Muddied and dripping he ran into the hotel lobby. Trying to orientate himself through the dark cloud that seemed to have smothered his mind, he ran to the front desk. A young boy, probably not beyond 20, sat behind the desk, frowning at a computer screen. Han paced up to the desk and waited for the boy to respond. When he didn't Han glared at the boys back and coughed loudly.  
  
"Umm, excuse me?" He said, careful not to exaggerate the 'excuse' bit: he did need this kids help after all.  
  
"Sorry." The boy responded "I'll be with you in a minute." Han stood waiting for a full minute before his patience broke. This was ridiculous, Luke was out there somewhere, he didn't have _time _for this!  
  
"It's important." Han said sharply,   
  
"I won't be a moment."   
  
Enough talk; he was wasting time "No, you won't." He said reaching across and flicking the off switch on the monitor "Now listen up, because I don't have much time -our friend has gone missing and-"   
He started to tell the boy to contact whatever form of police they had on this backwater planet, but was interrupted.   
  
"Really." The boy said testily, his anger eclipsing his youth "and how long has he been gone?"   
  
Confused, Han answered warily "About 10 hours."  
  
"Well then, in that case I can't help. He's not missing."   
  
"What do you _mean _he's not missing!? He's not _there_! " Han shouted, echoing Leia's words earlier, not in the  
mood for this cat and mouse game   
  
"We have to wait 22 hours before someone's missing," He said. Seeming very pleased with himself, he turned the screen back on. His patience gone, Han began to get angry. This boy was making a game out of Luke's life.   
  
"Fine you quote rules if you want to. But my friend is out there dying. Tell me -now- if your going to help him or not cause he doesn't have another 12 hours to live and I for one am not going to abandon him."   
Han's voice must have been sharp; the boy visibly flinched.   
  
"I'm sorry your friend is missing, but-" his voice got louder as Han looked like he was about to interrupt "_but_ he's probably collapsed in a bar somewhere or something. Thinking he's dead is a bit hasty, don't you think?"  
  
The growing feeling that he was too late was gnawing at Han's consciousness. This was taking too long. This wasn't going to work. Han was going to have to reveal their identities to prove to the kid he was serious. He didn't like that option, decided to give the easy way one last try. Levelling the blaster square at the boys face he said, "Call for help. Now." emphasizing every word.   
  
The boy shrank back from the fire in Han's eyes. Amazing how a blaster pointed at someone could change their whole perspective on life.   
  
"Uh...yessir...I'll need details though...."  
  
Han faltered a moment; should he reveal their true identity? If he did he might get more help. Their _position_ in the new Republics hall of fame did have its bonuses, but it would also mean that the media would be out for the event. "Luke Skywalker's Dead!!!" Would be shouted out across the galaxy before they had even found a body. His stomach turned at the thought of finding Luke's body...they had been friends for so long...the thought stuck sour in his mind, held back by his minds own defences. Luke was _not _dead. _Could _not be dead.   
  
Han made a decision; there really wasn't any choice. "Fine: I'll drop the pretence. The person they'll be looking for is Luke Skywalker."   
  
The boys eyes widened, his hands trembled over the keyboard. Then his mind seemed to catch up. "Oh, of course. Well, that's not funny and I'm not laughing."  
  
"Shut up and listen." Han snapped, thoroughly fed up with the boy's attitude now. "My name is Han Solo. My wife, Leia, is out there in the rain now looking for him,"   
  
Terror set into the boy's face as he recognized Han. Suddenly numbed, the boy muttered "yessir" and starting tapping furiously at the keyboard.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Han ran back to join Leia, carrying a comlink so he could keep in touch with the search team, who hadn't arrived yet. The boy had said ten minutes: it had been half an hour. Han ran down the gravel track leading to the woods.   
  
Behind him, the boy appeared. "Wait!!" He shouted into the wind. Han decided to pretend he hadn't heard him, he ran on "Wait!!! What does he look like!?" Han stopped. That was a good question. What would Luke look like? He had been holding up a Force disguise, but would that have dropped? Probably.   
The noise of the rain and the trees moving in the wind almost drowned out the boys voice "and where do they look?"   
  
Already drenched though he been in the rain for a few minutes, rain running down his face and clothes, Han turned to see the figure of the clerk in the hotel doorway, hopping anxiously from foot to foot.   
  
"I don't know." He said honestly. For a moment, just a moment, Han almost saw Luke as he'd first known him: the naive farm boy who took too many risks. The kid better not be dead. "Anywhere, everywhere, I don't know!"   
  
His own words brought back to him the hopelessness of this search. The woodland must cover at least ten km squared, maybe more. How far had Luke gone? How long was it before he...before whatever had happened, happened? He didn't know the answers, he couldn't tell them where to start looking, but he felt that just to look wasn't enough.   
  
Turning back to stare into the dark of the forest, he tried to sort out the impossibilities of the search. Where would a Jedi master go on such a bad night?   
  
Where _couldn't_ a Jedi Master go?  
  
There were no limits, when it came to Luke, he realised, no limits at all. He didn't even have had to have stuck to the path at all.   
  
Luke, being Luke, could be anywhere.  
  
The rain fell harder. His clothes clung to him, cold and clammy. Something played on the edge of his consciousness. There was _something_ about all this that felt wrong somehow. He didn't know how to describe it.   
  
What was it? His mind screamed, _what was it_?  
  
He couldn't think. The rain drove his thoughts out of him. He couldn't think. The answer seemed to invade his consciousness, seemed to make itself felt.  
  
_He's a Jedi _Han went cold " 'where couldn't a Jedi master go?' " His body froze: horrible, terrible realization creeping up his spine. _He's a Jedi._

_He saw Ben and Vader fight, sabers clashing and sparking. Han ran for the falcon, its guard of stormtroopers gone to help their master. Leia followed, Luke came last, blaster held low as they ran for the ship. Ben was cornered: the troopers stood between him and the falcon. Vader was too strong, Ben was too old. "Ben?" Luke had stopped to stare at the fight. Ben heard his voice and turned to look at him. A sly smile crossed his fac;: Luke would escape, would escape from Vader, and Ben needed now to do only one thing more. He lifted his saber into an enguard salute, looked at Luke a last time. Vader's blade swept high and cut low. Luke screamed "No!!!" as Bens body disappeared...._

Han stumbled forward a few steps. _Disappeared_. Had Leia realised?   
  
No, not yet anyway. What, now, should he tell the search team? To look for a nonexistent body? Ben's cloak and saber had remained -had Luke carried his saber? Putting a hand to his forehead he forced himself to think back: what had Luke been wearing?

_Luke came to stand next to Han: hair wet and hanging over his face. Blinking it out of his eyes he said "I'm not sure they're going to appreciate us" they all looked half drowned Luke wore just an old black top and trousers Leia looked skeptical "hey," Han said "they're more comfortable" Luke just shrugged. "Well just have to sweet-talk them I guess" Leia replied _

The lightsaber would be easier to spot in the dark than the plain black clothes he'd been wearing.   
  
Bright lights swept over the tree tops and swept towards the hotel. Han recognized the whine of repulsors as dark shadowy shapes descended to the lawns. A huge wind blew up from the repulsors, the trees and grass bent in protest. Han held a hand in front of his eyes and bent his head to keep the flak thrown up by the wind from going in his eyes. The ships landed with a brief shudder as Han ran towards them, seeing the clerk do the same. The ramps dropped and a group of heavily kited men descended to the dark lawn. The search team had arrived.  
  
"Let me handle this," the clerk said from behind him " I know them".  
  
He jogged towards a burly looking man, the man recognized him and his face broke into a huge grin "Hey! What's this about New Republic heroes? You think that'll make us get here any quicker, hee?"   
  
The boy looked back at Han, gave him a half hearted smile, then whispered something in the mans ear. His smile faded to be replaced by something bordering on embarrassment, something on disbelief.  
  
"Come on," Han said, braking the silence "I want to find Leia; this day's getting darker."  
  
  
---  
  
  
The forest had parted into a slight clearing, the waning sun barely showing through thick black clouds. The storms had hit, trees bent under the force of the wind, it was no longer possible to talk to someone stood next to you. It pushed at them and held them back, the rain blinding their eyes. And it was getting worse. The search team had come equipped with goggles; that helped a bit but the rain stilled blurred Han's vision as he fought his way past the thick undergrowth and into the clearing. According to the sensors she should be here somewhere-- Han spotted Leia. She was sat on a stump, gazing absently at her hands, her hair was forced down and straight by the rain. He couldn't see her face but he knew she had been crying.   
  
"Leia!" He shouted, but the wind stopped his words. He struggled through the mud towards her "Leia!" He shouted in her ear. She jumped and whirled to face him. The look on her face was surprise. Of course, she wouldn't recognize him in the goggles. Pealing the goggles from his face, he said, "I thought we were never going to find you!!"   
  
She just nodded, her throat too numb from the cold to shout back. "Leia...." Han started, ready now to bring up the 'subject' of Luke's death. He had deliberated on how to tell. Should he say it outright? Gradually come on to the subject? Or should he hope to hell that Luke wasn't dead and that they'd find him?   
  
"Its all right Han. I know." She replied, looking into his eyes with a haunted expression. "We aren't going to find him are we?" She was so much sober than she had been earlier: Han had expected more hysterics: more denial. But he should have known better: she'd always been strong.  
  
"No, not if he's dead." He answered truthfully. "But we don't know that he is dead..."  
  
"Except they can't read any other life forms in the forest, can they?" She countered solemnly.  
  
"No," Han admitted, "but that's not say they're not wrong. The storms, the wind, even the trees could effect their sensors. Don't give up." He added as she seemed to slip back into depression. "I have a hundred men sweeping the forest, and they're well armed with sensors and night sights. We'll find him."   
  
"If he's here to be found." She said, but seemed to straighten a little "Come on. I-"  
  
"Captain Solo!!!" His comlink screamed at him. Han reached for his belt: then did a retake as he remembered he'd attached it to his collar so he could hear over the howling wind "Yes?"   
  
"We've found something sir..."  
  
"We're on our way." Han said with renewed hope that he didn't dare feel, grabbing Leia's hand he pulled her to her feet and ran back into the thick off the forest. Maybe Luke would be all right after all.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Leia approached the clearing: her mind giddy with hope though at the same time she tried to remain calm. This was it!!! She _knew_ it was here that Luke had last been.  
  
She _knew.  
  
_They came to a fork: took a sharp right and dived down the path towards the light of the searchers luma. Leia was aware of a tingling in her mind as she approached the light. Even as she ran she felt repulsed from the area... She wanted to slow but Han pulled her on. Hoping it was nothing Leia ran on. The Force felt louder as they neared the search team: it murmured around her in confusion: she tried to hear what they were saying: but, as in the hotel, she couldn't understand. She frowned. No, it wasn't the Force speaking to her... it wasn't sentient like that it -she collapsed to the ground: clutching her head in pain.   
  
She didn't feel the ground as she hit it hard: didn't feel the mud swell up around her: didn't hear Han's sharp cry or feel it as she dropped his hand, but she did feel one thing: she felt Luke. It wasn't as vague as before: she didn't have to search for it: instead she heard it clearly and this time she _understood  
  
_It was like a vision: but not a vision: more like a dream where everything fell into one. Vividly she felt his panic as if it were her own: felt too the...something that ran in his veins, burned at him. She felt his fear, saw him fall, collapsing to the ground with a cry of pain. Images assaulted her: Ben Kenobi: the Emperor, herself, accusing and full of hate and grief. Finally she felt him call to her, felt despair at not being able to wake her, and then she felt nothing. She gasped for air: felt her cold sweat as if she'd just come out of a nightmare.   
  
Someone was calling her name. Who? "Leia!" She heard "Leia are you okay?" She tried to see who had said it, realised her eyes were shut. Han stared at her in concern.   
  
"Yes," she managed, "yes, I..." she broke of as she saw what the man behind Han held. A cold lump formed in the back of her throat. Han turned to look at what was she was staring at.  
  
Luke's lightsaber.  
  
He looked with lost hope at the searcher holding it. The man, seeing his grief said "We, ermm, also found a black tunic and such."   
  
Han didn't want to but he had to ask: Leia was too dumb struck to speak.   
  
"Did you" his voice cracked "umm...did you find a body?"   
  
"No, sir, but we're still looking."  
  
Leia shook, scared and feeling very much alone. She reached for Luke's saber. "May I?" she managed to say.   
  
"Oh, of course." The man said, handing the saber over.   
  
She held in her hands, gripped it tight, never willing to let go. Tears welled in her eyes. He was dead. She'd known it all along, but the thought struck at her.  
  
_He was dead.  
  
_She had said she would not cry, not until she had found the body and looked into his eyes and known that he was dead. But she was denied even that.   
  
Tired, exhausted, racked with grief she let herself fall to floor, closed her eyes and clutched his saber to her  
  
_Luke, no!_ She felt the tears and didn't deny them any longer. _No!!  
  
  
---  
  
  
_Leia allowed the medic to run a scanner over her. She stared out at the mottled backdrop of hyperspace outside the medical wing's window. Han had insisted they check her over. Leia knew there was nothing wrong with her. Well, not physically anyway. It had been three days now, three days. It felt so fresh still. She could still see him; still feel him as he- her mind still choked on the word. In time, she would learn to accept what had happened. In time.   
  
"Well," the medic said, drawing Leia's attention away from the view port. "Your clear. I've run a full chemical analysis and virus scan: there's nothing. I think we can safely say, your going to be fine." She gave Leia a warming smile, Leia managed a slight smile in return, but she didn't feel it. She'd known she didn't have whatever had killed Luke, she'd be dead by now if she did. But her collapse in the forest had worried people, despite her urging that it was from the vision: nothing else. Every member of the search team had been scanned, though it felt like Leia had had to spend the most time here. She rubbed at the synthflesh that covered a long cut in her leg: where the forest had fought back against her.  
  
The medical bay door opened, and Han stepped in. She managed a wider smile for him, "How are you feeling?" He asked cheerfully, sitting on the end of her bed.   
  
"I'm okay I guess," she answered, almost truthfully "though it gets a little lonely in here."  
  
Han nodded; he'd had the same treatment yesterday and knew what she was talking about. "Don't worry, you'll be out by tonight."   
  
"I hope so, there's not much to do around here. They wont even let me watch the holovid channels" she smiled ryely: but Han looked away sheepishly.   
  
Leia frowned "Han...?"  
  
"I, ah, I.... that might be my fault. I didn't think you'd really want to see what the news is at the moment."  
Leia's face fell in recognition.   
  
"Oh. Thank you." No, she wouldn't have liked to have switched it on to find Luke's death still blaring across every channel. She could just imagine the tacky tributes. Old news footage endlessly repeated, with hurried, trashy biographies. No, she wouldn't have wanted to see them "They're still trying to find out what happened?"   
  
Han hadn't expected the question. So far Leia seemed to be handling this whole mess by not mentioning it. To Han that had seemed out of character but he'd accepted it all the same. He didn't expect such an outright question,   
  
"They're analysing his clothes and lightsaber now; trace elements test, that kind of thing. But, Leia, I think you have to realize that they probably wont find anything. It was raining pretty hard, anything important probably got washed away."   
  
"Yes I know, but at least they're trying."   
  
Han knew what she meant; until he had told them who they were looking for, the search teams hadn't been all that cooperative. He was glad the whole thing was in New Republic hands now.   
  
"I think we should just wait and see. What are you going to do now?" He probably shouldn't have asked her this yet, but Leia just straightened.  
  
"I suppose I'm going to get on with my life. It hurts, Han, but I still have you, and the kids, and everyone. Its, just...I never expected him to die like that." She looked straight into his eyes "You think of Luke Skywalker and you think of a naive farm boy blowing up a death star, of dozens of dog fights with impossible odds that he somehow survived. Of our father and the Emperor. Of the academy, and how he overcame every problem thrown at him. You see him as lucky, the great thing's he's done as one never-ending story. You don't realize that one day it has to end, that he can't go on forever. I knew that. We are all going to die, aren't we? But Luke not like _that_. Not by some stupid bloody insect bite, or venom or whatever the hell it was!" She breathed deep, calming herself "I...I always thought he'd die for some great cause, or that he'd grow old with me and we'd sit around the table laughing at things that used to terrify us. I _never _thought of him dying like that...." She trailed off.  
  
Han looked at her and understood. She was right, he knew, the idea of him dying for something so meaningless just didn't feel right, but there was nothing to be done about it. The kid was dead, and there wasn't a damn thing he could do.  
  
An idea struck him "Maybe, maybe you'll see him again..." He said cautiously.  
  
"What?" Leia said, confused.  
  
"Well, didn't Obi-Wan always used to come pestering Luke, and you've seen your father, right? Maybe, maybe Luke can do the same..." Leia brightened. Maybe she would see him again.... maybe.... Luke was certainly as strong as Obi-Wan had been. Well, she frowned, she thought he had been, but then Obi-Wan had never really shown his true powers had he? No, Luke was certainly as strong as their father had been, wasn't he?  
  
She hoped so, _Luke_ she thought _please hear me, please tell me what happened.  
  
_"Maybe..." She said.

Chapter 3: A Little Bit of Faith

She looked out at the hundreds of faces staring at her: some she knew, most she didn't. Wedge: Lando: most of Rogue squadron: many of the students from the academy: Admiral Ackbar, Mon Mothma, and so many more. Hundreds of Generals, Admirals, Commanders, Lieutenants, senators, and Media: hundreds of cameras all pointed at her. Chewie wasn't there: they'd sent a message to Kasyyuuk days ago, but had gotten no reply. It was nearly over: her part was nearly over. Soon she would be able to stand down and concentrate on not crying. It wouldn't be right for her to cry in front of the entire new republic. But she _needed_ to cry. She'd gone through how she'd met Luke: they'd all heard it before. She went through all that Luke had done for the Republic: they all knew it already.   
  
This was ridiculous: she couldn't read this speech any longer, full of "his death was tragic"'s and "we shall all miss him"'s .   
  
She started to say something about the academy, but choked on her words. She couldn't say any more. She stared down at the speech she was meant to be reading, saw tears fall on the screen's readout, blurring it. She looked back up at her audience. Silence. Several hundred people fidgeted, several thousands smiled in sympathy. She imagined the thousands watching her close up on a holo screen all over the galaxy. She felt like letting her knees give way and falling into her tears like her body commanded her to do. But she wouldn't. That was not the answer. _No_ she realised that this wasn't about a nice, wrapped up little speech to appease the New Republic's citizens, this wasn't about them at all this was about _Her_. This was about _Luke_. She looked one last time at her speech, officials walked towards her: probably to pull off screen before millions witnessed the Chief of State's breakdown to tears.   
  
With a wave of her hand she sent them away. She threw the data pad down, and looked directly into the cameras "That datapad held a speech about Luke Skywalker, about how much he did for all of us. It was about one of the best pilots this galaxy he's seen, it was about the Jedi knight who freed us all of Palpatine and many other people who have seen fit to want his power, about the Jedi master who rebuilt the Jedi out of nothing. But it wasn't about my brother." she leaned closer to the cameras "Perhaps it is my duty to tell you all of what Luke did for us: but you all know it already. I would rather talk about, rather remember, my brother. Luke meant a lot to me. Much more than a lot. I loved him as dearly as I do my husband and children. "   
  
In the background, Han clutched Anakin's hand harder and the twins face's grew harder.   
  
"I never knew I had a brother, not for 22 years of my life." An advisor in the background shook his head furiously at her: they had agreed that there would be no talk of their heritage, "When I found out Luke was my twin, it was like having my eyes opened for the first time. Though we had only been connected through a terrible knowledge about our father I have never, not for one day, regretted having a twin. We were already close, but this made us closer.  
  
He was always there for you: for what he believed in, but he was much more than just a two-dimensional hero, much more than a list of battles we won because of him, much more than his victories. He was my brother, and a good friend, and if he hadn't done all these things, hadn't helped us so many times, I wouldn't have loved him less, and I couldn't miss him more."   
  
She stepped down to silence, had she gone about this wrong? Maybe she shouldn't have mentioned their father. The whole chamber erupted into clapping, everyone rose to their feet and cheered, halfway down from the podium Leia turned to look at the people. They all clapped her. Wedge grinned broadly and winked at her. She smiled: the first real smile she had smiled since his death.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Han walked with Lando towards his and Leia's suite. "That was some speech." Lando said, a touch of admiration in his voice. "She had guts to do that. If it had gone wrong, the council would have wanted her neck for bringing up Vader again."  
  
"Ah, well, she must have spent too much time around me." Han said, but then turned serious "I hope she got through to a lot of people out there, a lot of people in the Republic are using Luke's death for publicity." Han didn't say it but Lando knew who he meant: the military. Blatant "Are you the next Luke Skywalker?" campaigns trying to get kids to sign on. What a mess.   
  
"So where do you go from here?" Lando said.   
  
Han frowned "I don't know. You know, if you'd asked me what I was going to do next a couple of weeks ago and I'd said I didn't know, it probably would have had something more to do with me and Leia not getting on. This whole mess has brought us closer together."   
  
"One positive thing I suppose."  
  
"Don't even say it, Lando."  
  
"Any news from the labs yet?"  
  
"No, the waits starting to kill me."   
  
Lando stopped and looked at his friend "You don't think it was an accident, do you?"  
  
"I'm not saying anything, its just _Luke_, dying from a bug bite? Luke? It just doesn't seem real. He'd have known wouldn't he?"  
  
"Why don't you ask Streen or Kyp?"  
  
"I have: they're nowhere near as trained or as strong as Luke was: but they still say that he probably should have known."  
  
Lando turned serious, "Han do you realize what your saying? If a bug didn't kill him, who did?"  
  
"I don't know" Han's said quietly, "I really don't know."  
  
  
---  
  
  
Leia sat trying to reach the force deep enough to call for Luke. Back on the medical frigate, after they had left Cassrine, Han had suggested that Luke might be able to manifest himself to her like Obi-Wan had been able to. So far there had been nothing. Leia had thought that he would have come to say good-bye at the least. Hadn't he realised how bad she felt? He had to know: didn't he?   
  
_Luke?_   
  
It made no sense: why didn't he come? Well, Luke had said that Obi Wan didn't always come when Luke needed him. Maybe it couldn't be helped. He would come one day though. He had to.   
  
  
---  
  
  
Han strode down the corridor, letting Leia be alone with her for thoughts for a while. She was taking this badly, but the kids were taking it worse: they'd been very close to their uncle. Han sighed: he'd always thought that one day Luke would have taught them about the Force, now he guessed that would be up to Streen or Tionne or someone: the Jedi no longer had a Master.  
  
A young woman ran towards Han, shouting his name. He stopped to let her catch up. "Captain Solo!" she said, "I've been calling you for ages!"  
  
"Sorry." he said "I guess I've got a lot on my mind," she flinched "Sorry, I didn't mean it to sound like that. What can I do for you?"  
  
She regained her composure "We have the results of Jedi Skywalker's clothes and lightsaber, if you want to view them."   
  
Han was shocked. That _was _quick, even considering all the pressure from the press. Despite what he'd said a few days ago about the wait for the results, he really hadn't expected them yet.   
  
"Where are they?" he asked her.   
  
"I'll show you," she gestured for him to follow and headed back up the hall way. Maybe now they would get some answers. The young woman led him up to the science labs, "Doctor Hall." she said and started to turn. Seeing the lack of recognition on Han's face she said "Over there." and pointed to a woman with steely grey hair tied up tight on her head, bending over a computer read-out.   
  
"Thank you" Han said and walked towards the doctor "Uh... Excuse me?"  
  
The woman whirled around to meet him "Ah, Captain Solo?" she said, "We've analysed the evidence you sent us."   
  
He didn't like the way she used the word 'evidence'. She strolled over to a different screen and starting punching keys "We had a tough time getting any readings at all: they were washed clean. But this is what we did find."   
  
The screen showed an array of long chemical names that Han didn't recognize, except one: "Spice?!" he said, recognizing its chemical name. Shock turned to anger Are you sure?"  
  
"Yes, but it was only on the clothes."  
  
"I find that very hard to believe." Han said, his voice bordering on suspicion. _Spice_   
  
"Luke would never have touched that stuff." He said   
  
"Oh, maybe not, but you see, these garments were not bagged as soon as they were found so it is entirely possible that Skywalker never touched the stuff." She turned her intense glare on Han "But its also possible that he _Did._"  
  
This was ridiculous; he _knew _Luke hadn't taken any spice. Han had been with him the whole time they had been on Cassrine, and besides; where would Luke have got any? He'd been ill ever since they'd arrived at the spaceport... An idea crossed his mind something Luke had once told him about spice and another drug. He turned to the scientist.  
  
"What would happen if you combined any of these chemicals with spice?" he asked.  
  
"We looked in to that," she said "but not a lot as far as we can see"  
  
"But have you looked into what it would do to a Jedi?" He asked, trying to remain patient, if he was right about this...  
  
"No." she frowned "I don't think we'll have any records on it...though I can try."   
Han tried to remember the other chemicals name...the memory clicked: "Is one of those chemicals more commonly known as Glastine?"  
  
"Yes, this one. She pointed to a chemical name, "but I don't see-"  
  
"Then you don't need to do any research, that's why he died." He swore under his breath.  
  
"I _don't_ understand," she said, it was her turn to be impatient now.  
  
He looked at Hall, from the scowl on her face he realised that his sudden conviction probably sounded just a little crazy given he hadn't really explained it yet.  
  
"Luke once told me that if you put spice and Glastine together its a concoction that, umm " Han didn't know how to put it, "that amplifies the Force, for ordinary people it just gives them a high as they _think_ they can touch the Force but it would send you mad if you were a Jedi." He waited for her to object but instead she just stared at him "Luke knew that! He'd _never_ have taken the two, especially not together. And look at the quantities: their almost identical...."  
  
"That still doesn't explain why he died...surely that wouldn't kill him."  
  
"No, it wouldn't, but would any of these chemicals be dangerous?" He asked.  
  
"We're still waiting for analysis on a few samples that we think we're the poison of some local insects, it looks like this one," she pointed "or this one, could have been lethal, but their still looking into it back at Cassrine. I think these are your killers, not the spice."  
  
"I'm not saying the spice killed him, I think maybe it was a distraction so that he didn't notice the real drug at work."   
  
"Or the infamous Jedi wasn't as morally sound as we were all lead to believe, and the spice was his. You don't need the spice for the venom to have worked. It would have worked alone."  
  
Han was starting to get furious at what she was implying. Luke would _not_ have taken spice. "Look, he's a Jedi, right?" Han said "He probably would have known about any insect venom if he had it in him, but if he was distracted by the effects of the spice, then maybe he didn't find out until it was too late." He let what he was saying sink in.  
  
"You think someone put together a soup of spice, Glastine and this venom and somehow injected him with it?"  
  
"Yes! _And_ it would have felt like an insect bite too: he probably wouldn't have thought about it at the time"   
  
"It's possible," she admitted coolly "but it could just be the venom and-"  
  
"No." Han interrupted her "He would have felt it if it was that. He _had_ to have been distracted so it would have worked."  
  
"Do you realize what you saying? Somebody murdered Luke Skywalker. That is _not _going to go down well in the senate."  
  
"I don't _care_ how it goes down. Luke was murdered," he looked at the screen "can I have a readout of that?" He asked.  
  
"Sure." She shrugged "Why?"  
  
"I don't know. It might help." He ripped off the sheet as it finished printing "What are you going to put in your report?" He asked.  
  
"I'm not sure yet. I need to think about this some more." She stared thoughtfully at the readings in Han's hand.   
  
"Well, make sure I get a copy when you've finished. I don't like this one bit."  
  
  
---  
  
  
Han stepped into the huge docking bay at Coruscant's main spaceport. Hoping that he wasn't too late he peered around the bay until he spotted a small innocuous looking ship in a corner. Innocent looking enough, but Han would bet that, given its owner, it had a sting behind that unpresuming facade.   
  
Quickening his step he walked towards the ship, aware that there were probably several trigger happy 'employees' watching him with charged blasters, he tried to look relaxed. Han continued the mental battle he'd been fighting all day. Leia didn't know he was here, she thought he was out tweaking (or hitting) the Falcon's alluvial dampers into shape. They _had_ been playing up lately. It was a good excuse to get out. It was also a lie.   
  
Well, Han had told enough lies in his life, a lot bigger ones than this and not always in a 'good cause'. It wasn't the lie that bothered him. It was if Leia found out who he was with that he worried about: or rather: why he was with them. Luke had been her brother, her _twin._ They had almost been closer than that, probably if they hadn't been separated for over half their lives they would have been inseparable. Would have been. But the kid was dead, and Leia was taking it like hell. It had been weeks and she was still running round like he'd died yesterday. Han sighed. Yeah, it hurt when he thought of Luke as being dead. It didn't seem real somehow. But it was, and there wasn't a thing he could do about it. And now he was here, chasing a hunch that probably wouldn't lead anywhere, but that his conscience wouldn't let lie. If Leia found out there was a chance, just a chance that he was murdered, it would break her heart. So he was here racked with guilt at not telling her and hoping that if he was right she would forgive him  
  
A tall dark man appeared from behind the ship, blaster holstered and hands free.  
  
"Solo." He greeted Han, "Good to see you again."  
  
"And you Karrde." Han replied.  
  
"Been keeping well?" Talon asked casually.  
  
"What do you think?" Han said bitterly.  
  
"Ah yes, I was sorry to hear about Skywalker. I had always admired his... capabilities." Karrde nodded at the far shadows of the bay. A man Han hadn't known had been there stepped into the light and holstered his blaster "Chin, continue prepping the ship. I want to be out of here in ten minutes." several other men appeared from the shadows and left the bay with Chin to go unload some 'goods'.  
Karrde turned to Han, "Solo, I am sorry to hear about Luke's death. I'd always counted him as a friend." Han waited for Karrde to continue "I came to, amongst other things, offer my condolences to your wife, and to bring a warning."   
  
A warning? Han hadn't expected this. When Karrde had called Han last night to arrange a meeting Han hadn't known what it was about but he had decided to use the opportunity to see if he knew anything about Luke's death.   
  
"We shouldn't talk about these things here but I have been getting some strange reports out of some of the rim worlds. I thought that in the New Republics present state of demilitarisation you might not have heard."  
  
He didn't say it but Han heard it all the same: Luke's sudden death had caught the Republic unprepared and Leia wasn't the only one still reeling from the shock, the whole republic was still picking itself up off the floor.  
  
It would have been a great distraction, Han thought.  
  
"What kind of reports?" He asked.  
  
Karrde shook his head "Not here. Meet me at Byphssm in a standard week." He eyed the bay warily, "I don't think I entirely trust this spaceport's security."  
  
Han couldn't leave Leia now, but Karrde sounded serious, and it was unlike him to overreact to anything. Besides, Byphssm was far enough outside republic territory that Han might escape all those tacky tributes that littered the news channels, "Okay Karrde, I'll trust you just this once."   
  
"Glad to hear it. Byphssm, Solo, and don't be late."  
  
Han watched Karrde stalk aboard his ship, wondering if he was doing the right thing. He grimaced. Probably not, but then that had never stopped him before.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Han sat slumped in a chair in their lounge. Leia looked out of their bedroom door at his sleeping form. Probably she should wake him: he'd disappeared earlier that day, and then called later to say he was going to do some work on the falcon. Leia had taken an early night. Han must have come back in while she was asleep and not made it to bed before dropping off. She crept up to him, intending to wake him with a good-natured gibe, but she saw something that interested her on the table in front of him.   
  
Papers: some sort analytical report. Leia frowned wondering what Han was doing with a science report.  
  
Moving carefully past his sleeping head and stepping over his feat she snatched the papers from the table and got a look at the title:

"MEDICS REPORT: Analysis and Conclusion: Examined, B3574, B3575 and E346" 

Leia caught her breath. She stared over at Han. Why hadn't he told her that they had the results in? He should have woken her, it was not like she was sleeping well anyway. She felt a flash of anger at him but let it die. Well, she would ask him when he woke. Now she wanted to read the report. She moved over to the sofa and curled up on it, pulling her dressing gown tighter. She opened the report and looked at it. Not knowing what any of the chemicals mentioned were, she flicked through until she reached the conclusion.

_"In light of the information provided by Captain Solo, I have to conclude that either the subjects death was either the direct result of the abuse of the restricted substance commonly known as 'spice', in conjunction with the mild narcotic gastine and the involuntary subjection to the venom of an insect native to Cassrine resulting in the massive overload of neural pathways and therefore death within a few hours of consumption. Or, as I believe is more likely, that the subject, knowing the effects of these drugs on control of the Force, was injected without his knowing with a mixture of the three drugs. Thus the conclusion would be murder (as mental records show that the subject had no instabilities which might have lead to suicide.)  
Though I have no authority in such matters I would suggest that the subjects death should not be treated as the result of natural causes or as being accidental." _

Leia sat shocked as she read the conclusion. Murder? But, how? She brought her legs up to her chest and squeezed her eyes shut. _Murder_. She let the papers drop from her hands,  
  
"Han." She said. He moaned slightly in response "Han!" She said louder. "Wake up!"   
  
The door to the twin's room opened, "Mom?" Jaina's voice asked.   
  
Leia gave herself a heartbeat to bring down her tone "Its okay honey: go back to bed." She said.  
  
"But-"  
  
"It's okay really," she opened her eyes and looked at Jaina's frightened face "Go back to bed," Jaina looked like she was about to protest but then moved back into her room and shut the door. "Han." She said sharply but quieter now.  
  
He came awake with a groan "Leia? What time is it?"   
  
She fumed, standing over him, fire burning behind her eyes. Confused for a moment as he was still waking Han looked around, and spotted the papers lying scattered on the floor. Leia, seeing where he was looking, gave him a questioning look.  
  
"Ah."  
  
"No excuses Han. The truth; why didn't you show me this as soon as you got it. It's dated _yesterday _for crying out loud! Why didn't you _tell_ me?" Remembering the children she tried to keep her voice quite.  
Han moved to sit up and looked into her eyes. "I'm sorry, I just didn't think you needed to know it, not yet anyway."  
  
"What do you mean 'not yet' when were you planning on telling me?"  
  
"Look, Leia, I didn't want to frighten you. I-" he stopped and looked at her. "I-"  
  
"Oh, never mind." She interrupted him "It doesn't really matter any more." She slumped into a chair.  
  
"Murdered." She whispered shaking her head slightly in disbelief.  
  
"Leia, I've been trying to figure out who could have done it, and well, there are a lot of people who are... uh, were pretty mad with Luke. I just can't figure out who it would be."  
  
Leia nodded. A question came into her mind "How did you know what spice and gasrine do? I hadn't heard that before."  
  
Han shrugged "Luke told me. We were travelling to Creish Station when he got me talking about some of my old smuggling days. I mentioned that I'd smuggled the two together. That's when he told me about them."  
Leia seemed to take that in. Suddenly she tensed, and looked straight at Han "What?" He asked.  
  
"Han, you don't think? "  
  
"Don't think _what?_"  
  
She swallowed "That we were drugged so that I wouldn't hear him calling?"  
  
Han stared at her. Of course, but they hadn't found anything in the tests onboard the medical frigate, had they? "But nothing showed up on your scan."  
  
"Well, I wasn't scanned until 3 days after he died. It could have been a very short lived drug."  
  
"Just a knock out drug would do it." He agreed.   
  
Leia felt like a weight she hadn't even known was there before had been lifted off her shoulders. It wasn't her fault that he'd died. Somehow, it was a relief though at the same time she didn't want to think off him as being murdered. Finally she would be able to look Anakin in the eye again, would be able to hope that her son trusted her again. She sighed. "I hope it's worth it." She whispered under her breath.  
  
  
  
---  
  
  
  
Han had two days before he'd have to set of to meet Karrde at Byphssm, and he still hadn't told Leia. Considering how badly shed taken it when she'd found the reports two days ago, he wasn't looking forward to it. Still; it had to be done. But first, he really had to get those alluvial dampers fixed or the _Falcon_ wasn't going anywhere fast. Caught up in his own thoughts, Han didn't notice the large furry form that come charging around the corner. They ploughed straight into each other.  
  
"Hey! Watch it you- Chewie!!" Chewbacca howled in recognition and gave Han a bear hug.   
  
"Okay pal, okay. Where have you been? I sent the message weeks ago." Chewie looked downcast at that, howled mournfully.   
  
"Aw, Chewie I didn't mean it like that. Its just, well, we've been having a tough time of it lately." That seemed to work only to depress the wookiee even further .  
  
"But where have you been?" Han asked, less sharply this time. Chewie howled something about being out in the forest with his son. Kasyyuuk's transponders had been down for two weeks and all the backlog of messages and mails had brought it down again when they'd finally got it up. Chewie had only found out about Luke's death by overhearing a conversation as he came back from the trek. He'd rushed to check his messages, and found Han's.  
  
"That's okay pal, I understand. I was considering coming out and getting you, guess I probably should have done from the sound of it."  
  
Chewie howled something. "Leia's not holding up to well and neither are the kids, though for Jacen it hasn't seemed to have sunk in yet. He thinks his uncle's just off at the academy again." He shook his head sadly.  
  
"You would have loved the memorial service though, Leia threw out the speech and did her own thing..." He trailed off. His best friend had just learnt about Luke's death and all he could do was talk about the memorial service. "Damn it, Chewie! It just doesn't seem _real_. He can't be dead; it's just not possible. I keep running it over in my head and it's all wrong somehow."  
  
Chewie looked at his friend sympathetically. When he'd first heard of Luke's death he had been distraught. He'd been ready to tear arms off the first person to get in his way. But when he'd found out it was from an insect bite -of all things- he'd been incredulous. Han gave him a strange look "Chewie, its not that simple. I think he was murdered."  
  
Chewie just stared at him, howled something at him "I don't know who, pal, if I did do you think I'd still be hanging around here? I've got the report." He showed a pile of well thumbed papers to Chewie "It's not much use, really, but I've been going over it anyway."  
  
Chewie looked around the open corridor, howled a question "Yeah, your probably right: we shouldn't discuss this in the open. Come on."  
  
  
---  
  
  
The bar was a dive. The bar tender scowled as Han and Chewie entered. Han wondered if it was because he recognized them or because he didn't. They pushed their way to a back booth, it was cheap furniture: a lot like the cantina in Mos Eisley, Han frowned at the memory: regretted thinking about it, seeing Luke, the wide-eyed flying farm boy, for the first time.   
  
"H'okay." He said as they sat down. "This is what we've got."   
  
He let Chewie study the report whilst he drank and stared around at the patrons. Most we're non-human, and those that were human didn't look all that savory. Most were huddled in little discussion groups, telling well-worn stories of miraculous escapes and daring feats: all well animated by hand movements and cheers from their companions. Others just sat in a dark corner on their own, looking out soberly (or not so soberly) at the bar.  
  
Chewie whuffled and growled as he read the report. When he'd finished Han said, "So what do you think, pal?"  
  
Chewie growled and looked like he was going to rip arms of the nearest available sentient.  
  
"Easy, Chewie. I know it hurts, but we've got to figure out who did it before the trail goes cold." _and before I get tangled up in whatever mess Karrde has dug up,_ he thought. Chewie howled something "Yeah, Luke did make a lot of enemies: that's the problem." He took the report off Chewie. "Maybe there's something here we're not seeing." He said slowly, scowling at the black and white pages Chewie howled doubtfully "Something really obvious."   
  
He shook his head. "But I've been over it hundreds of times! So have the guys at the military: none of us can find any clues. Ah, well, I guess we try again, hey? Go get us another drink whilst I start reading through all the bureaucratic stuff to see if there's any facts underneath."  
  
As Chewie left to try and get another drink from the bartender Han started the report. It hadn't changed since the last time he'd read it. He read the introduction: the description of the tests used, and had just got onto the non specialized facts when chewy pushed himself back into their cubicle. "Thanks, Chewie." He said as Chewie sat opposite. He said something,   
  
"No, I-" Han stiffened and stopped the mid sentence.  
  
Chewie howled excitedly "I don't know, its just...something... "  
  
He read the facts again mass, colour, trace elements, age... Han stopped. Age? He read it again "No older than 1 year." He said out-loud.   
  
Chewie asked.  
  
"No older than _one_ year." Han repeated.

_"How long have you two had those clothes anyway. I'd swear you wore the same stuff at Endor" Leia joked. "Hey!" he said "I've only had these about two years, thank you" Leia grinned.  
Luke just shrugged "2 or 3 years. They're just more comfortable."  
"Well just have to sweet-talk them I guess" she replied and stepped into the huge hallway._

"Chewie, I think I have something." Han said, "It says his clothes were less than a year old _but_ I remember Leia joking about clothes and Luke said he'd had them at least 2 years" Chewie howled "No, I don't know what it means...but his clothes cant-"   
  
No, they _cant,_ he thought. Chewie said something slowly "But if they aren't Luke's clothes then..." he looked up into Chewie's face "If they aren't his clothes he doesn't have to be dead!" He shouted, as realisation set in  
  
"It was a set up Chewie. A damn set up. He's not dead!"   
  
Chewie howled for him to calm down, not because the whole bar was staring at them, but because he couldn't let himself believe it.   
  
"No Chewie, what other explanation is there? Those can't have been his clothes. It's not possible. He's alive."  
  
  
---  
  
  
Luke drifted: his mind felt the cool touch of darkness break over him. The depth of the Force returned to his mind and he felt it wash across his mind, driving him back towards the darkness. _I am drowning._  
It showed him images, thing's he'd never known. A woman's face, tear streaked but laced with joy: flesh torn from flesh. Leia. He knew. He was taken; torn from her, he felt her crying out to him as the distance broke their link. She was taken to Alderaan and initiated into the royal family. He was thrown unceremoniously into the arms of the Lars. A farm boy. Raised to be poor and a nobody. She revealed in wealth. He worked for nothing.   
  
Was he bitter? He'd never felt jealousy towards the differences in where they were sent before. Yes, he realised, he was bitter. She had had everything: he'd had nothing. He couldn't understand why his mother had let him go, tossed him aside so easily but stayed with Leia. He felt rejected and alone. Now Leia's spirit cried out to him, he tried to shut it out, shut it up. Tried to wrap his arms around the screaming the child. Put his hand across her mouth so she wouldn't scream, close her eyes so she wouldn't cry. But the pain was too deep and she cried louder. He tried to hide but there was in no way he could hide from what was in his mind. She hurt. Her agony cried to him now and his spirit cried with her. He tried to stop it but it was loud and his mind demanded that he cradle it, hold it to him, to give it solace.  
  
_Leia_ His mind stretched out of the dark to his twin, searching for the crying child, but he found only echoes of the past, a turmoil where her emotions had stretched thoughts to him. He felt himself slipping back towards the dark.   
  
The light beckoned and he clung to it. Senses flooded back to him. His body ached, his head screamed. He tried to lift a hand to it. He couldn't. Confused, he fought with his eyes to see why. Bright white light burned him as he forced them to open. To see. He shut it out and concentrated on what he could see. He couldn't move his head, panicking he reached out with the Force to see why.   
  
He was held in place by hands and feet tied to the table, but his head was covered. He couldn't feel the air on his face he realized, couldn't hear himself breathing. Forcing down his fears he let himself fall into the Force and see himself. His body was limp, unmoving on the table surrounded by darkness lit by white lights. He wore the same clothes he had worn on Cassrine. Cassrine? What had happened?   
  
Then he saw his head and reeled in shock. Wires and metal supports ran to a metal plate that surrounded the top half of his head, like a living thing they circled his head, intertwining and in places reaching for his flesh. He reached out to pull at the unit, but it wouldn't budge: the wires would not be freed.   
  
A slight noise caught his attention and he stared in horror as a metal point reached for his exposed head. His mind fell back from the Force and he lay, panicking but not moving, hearing the noise loud and throbbing in his ears. Felt the metal point touch soft weak skin, and felt no more.  
  
  
---  
  
  
The huge ship cut through space. Roughly oval with huge blisters on its front, the cruiser bristled with ion cannons and turbolaser emplacements. The sleek hull curved around the front of the ship reaching the layered bottom of the ship with landing bays and tractor ports. The huge drive at the back glowed blue and hummed with fresh power. Backlit by a swirling gas giant it reoriented itself and swung around to polar north, and with a kick and flare of puesudo-motion it jumped into hyperspace.   
  
The mottled starscape was reflected on the battle cruisers main bridge on the viewscreen. Elder Fr'h'tokh smiled in anticipation. Victory. He could smell it. At last the waiting was over, they were free to attack, and the Elder was sure the Admiral would carry out his orders swiftly and effectively, and he was sure they would win. Ssi-ruuk did not show any emotion, but if it were possible Fr'h'tokh would have smiled. 14 years ago they had sent out their first attack force at this galaxy's emperor's _invitation_. Fr'h'tokh relished in the irony of it. A human had introduced the ssi-ruuk to these worlds, and the ssi-ruuk would take all they had to offer. Quite conveniently the races of this galaxy had solved the small problem of repaying the invitation in battle droids -as had been agreed with their emperor- not that His Potency the Shreeftut had ever intended to carry out the agreement, the Elder thought, but at least it was one less detail to take care of.   
  
Yes, 14 years ago a scout force had been sent to discover the defensive capabilities of these systems, when that scout force had not returned it had been rumoured that the humans were obviously greatly underestimated and, since all ssi-ruuk feared dying away from consecrated land, His Potency had delayed all attacks until further news could be brought. Then, some 4 years ago a lone escape pod had been found on the outside of ssi-ruuk territory, the story of the invasion's failure had reopened old wounds but it had also inspired new spirit in the people. They heard how the escape pods had been meticulously destroyed, that there had been no attempts to take prisoners or stop so many ssi-ruuvi lives going to waste. The news had outraged the populace. Fr'h'tokh thought fondly of that time: he had orchestrated many of the propaganda reports against these races and encouraged more of his people to sign on. _He_ had brought his people this far.  
  
The young ssi-ruuk's story had been elevated into legendary status, the boy hailed as a hero as they heard of his escape by hiding in battle debris waiting for his chance to jump into hyperspace, of how the hot debris had burned out his hyperdrive so that he was kicked back into normal space years away from ssi-ruuvi territory, and how he had survived by going into suspended animation for ten years. It had been 4 long years of preparation, but it had been worth it: tacticians had studied deeply all the young hero had to offer: forcing every little fact out of the boy (this, of course, had not been shown to the populace) about the Skywalker project. Unfortunately the boy had only been an underling: but the information he had been able to provide had told them enough. And now they were ready to attack, and their greatest hopes had been realized.   
The plan had taken almost a year to formalize: but it was perfect in every sense: and so far, it was working.  
  
Their greatest hope for the upcoming battles lay sedated below decks.   
  
A small P'w'eck whistled at Fr'h'tokh. He looked at it in disdain; the soulless creatures were almost as detestable as the humans. "Elder" it whistled, "Master Swh'hr'ring wishes to speak with you."  
  
He stepped over to the comm and gave his authorization code. The face of the slightly younger ssi-ruuk from the warrior cast that dominated the military appeared before him, Swh'hr'ring honked in excitement "Elder" he said, "the human has awoken at last." his long tongue flicked in anticipation  
  
"The operation went well?" Fr'h'tokh asked, showing none of Swh'hr'ring's lack of control. Emotions were such basic things. But Swh'hr'ring could be perhaps forgiven; there had been a while when they had feared that  
  
Skywalker would not survive the drugs they had given him on Cassrine.  
  
"Very well, elder, all indications show that it will work perfectly. I ask now to proceed to the next step within the entechment room."   
  
Swh'hr'ring was excited, but it was best not to become too hasty. There were many battles yet to be won. "You are certain that the implant will have no adverse effects?"  
  
The other ssi-ruuk looked a little downcast at that "We won't be able to tell that until it is tested." He said, obviously eager to begin testing.  
  
"Not yet, we we'll wait a few hours, a few days maybe, before testing. I want to be absolutely certain Skywalker's brain does not reject the implant."   
  
He brought up star maps of the surrounding systems. They showed chart projections and unknown areas; for all their research the ssi-ruuvi had still a lot to learn about this region of space. All the same, the Elder spotted a likely target. "Yes, we will wait a few days before testing. First, we still need to pick up some more supplies. We need to make an assault on an outpost on the edge of their territory with the resources we need." He took a moment to scan the chart some more "There's one just a few light years from here. Sele. After that, he should have had plenty of time for rest and we can proceed with the tests. Monitor the human and inform me of any change." Swh'hr'ring nodded eagerly and Fr'h'tokh cut of the connection.  
  
Yes, he could indeed taste victory.

Episode 2 posted very soon.

Teaser Excerpt...

"What's this about the 'other question'?" Karrde asked.  
  
Han scowled at his co-pilot "I _was_ getting around to it." He said " I didn't just come here because you asked me to, Karrde. I need your help. I need you to see if you can't come up with some information. "  
  
"Really. Cash or account?"  
  
Han scowled again. "Considering I'm about to run off to get the military to help you with your missing systems neither would be my choice."  
  
"A joke, Solo. Just a joke. How can I help?"  
  
"We've found evidence that Luke's death was a fake." Karrde's face remained neutral though his body language belied some surprise "We think it was a set up. I was hoping you might be able to help us find out what happened. We have no idea where he could be,"  
  
"You think he's alive?"  
  
"Yes, and he might need help, because wherever he is, Leia can't find him."  
  
"Solo, I hate to break this to you but there must be hundreds of people who would have liked to have seen Luke dead."  
  
"Yes but how many would want him _alive_?"  
  
"And how do you keep a Jedi under your control? What makes you think he's alive?"   
  
Han launched into his explanation, Karrde looked sceptical at the whole story "Normally, I would say that it's not that much to go on. But then, I know Luke well. Are you sure they didn't just get the dating wrong?"  
  
"I've had them go over it about ten times. The dates are right."  
  
"Hmmm, well where Skywalker is involved, anything is possible. I might still be inclined to say it is a fluke, especially considering that Leia cant seem to reach him, but it all seems a little coincidental."

  
  



	2. Episode Two

Disclaimer - If I had a republic credit for every time I've read a disclaimer like this one, I might be as rich as George Lucas. But I don't, and George has made his money from the characters I'm temporarily borrowing for this jaunt around his universe. 

Creative criticisms are welcome but flames will find a home in my deleted folder. Also, I make spelling mistakes - sorry. However, if you think an s' should be a z' or there's a spare u' floating around - I'm English: that's the way we spell. Proper like.

If you're still with me into this second episode, well done, because I don't think my sanity followed me here. This is slightly shorter then episode one, and if I'm allowed to critique my own work, better by indices. Enjoy!

Thanks go the Leonard Cohen for his mood swings. Love ya. 

Mina - [][1]vikki18@totalise.co.uk

Abhoration and the Alternative

**Episode 2**

Chapter One : something old...something new

The _Falcon_ blasted out of hyperspace with a flair of white light. Her captain swore as monitors and lights powered down and flickered off across the cockpit. Chewie howled.  
  
"Yeah, well I thought I had it working." Han said annoyed at the wookiee's comment on his skills as a mechanic. He hit a panel with the side of his hand, smiled widely at the reassuring sound of throbbing power that started "See: no problem." Chewie just woofeld quitely. Han thought about replying but decided it wasn't worth it.   
  
Clutching the _Falcon's_ controls, he banked her around and sent her careening down towards the yellow planet that dominated two thirds of the view out the falcon's cockpit. The huge planet reminded Han a little of the distant Tatooine, though its violence made Tatooine's brutal climate seem like a holiday. Storms raged across its surface: a dramatic contrast between scorched dune seas and ragged, black storms pouring rain over isolated areas. Gale winds blew fierce, abrasive sand clouds across the dunes, remapping the landscape where they destroyed rock and sand formations with the brutal force of the sand being thrown at terrific speeds against them. Han whistled in appreciation of the ferocity of the scene before him. Chewie howled softly.  
  
"Do we really want to fly through that lot?" Han asked, not wanting anything else to go wrong with his ship. Chewie looked skeptical about the idea of the _Falcon_ making it through,   
  
"Trust Karrde to pick a planet like this to call home. I knew the guy went in for out of the way bases but this is getting ridiculous." Chewie made a point "Yeah, I suppose it would give you a perfect camouflage." Han agreed, peering at the sensors display. He for one couldn't make out anything big enough to be a base.  
  
"Your pick buddy: north, south, east or west...?"   
  
The comm light flashed for his attention. Suddenly untrusting of this godforsaken planet, Han frowned at it. Theoretically no one but Leia and Karrde knew Han was coming. Theoretically. And besides, Han couldn't see any other ships on the sensors, and he didn't trust a caller he couldn't see.   
  
"Chewie," he said, acting on impulse "charge up the main guns."   
  
Chewie howled in objection as Han pushed out of the pilot's chair and made for the gun ports "I dunno Chewie, just do it."   
  
It was probably nothing of course. Just the sensors playing up again: or Han on edge cause he'd rather be back on Coruscant helping Leia figure out where Luke was. But he'd promised Karrde he'd be here, and there was no way to send a comm to this place, so he'd had to come. Leia hadn't been too pleased but that was just the way things went sometimes.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Luke woke slowly, his mind groggy and struggling with unconsciousness. His body tingled as his senses flooded with an overload of information after days of being numbed.   
  
For a while he just lay there. After the last time he had woken he wasn't looking forward to seeing where he was now. He could tell he wasn't in the same laboratory he had been in the last time he had woken: there wasn't the burning white light from harsh laboratory lamps; this wasn't the same medical smell that had tainted the air there. And he could feel the side of his head now too. The cool feeling of metal pressed close to his head. But this time he felt only a small patch, and there were no wires touching his skin. Whatever they (and who were 'they' anyway?) had been doing, they had done it, and Luke didn't find the idea of opening his eyes and finding out just exactly what that was particularly thrilling.  
  
He was tired. Weary like his body had been fighting a battle for days but hadn't let his consciousness in on the act. He had already tried to move and had discovered that he was held in place by rigid restraints. When he was stronger he would try and break them with the Force, but he doubted he would be able to do it. A quick survey through the Force told him that the restraints obviously weren't the usual locking type; they felt seamless, and Luke had yet to figure out how to move them. Whoever 'they' were, they had obviously planned this meticulously; done their homework on Jedi. The thought didn't give Luke much hope, but even the best plans had faults. He needed to get out of these restraints, first, though he needed to let his mind rest and get over this inexplicable tiredness.  
  
The downward tug on his body told Luke that he lay almost horizontal, the angle the table was tipped at was somehow familiar, but Luke couldn't place the memory at the moment. He tried opening his eyes, blinked at the sudden light. As he opened his eyes he was aware of other senses too, the soft hum of working machinery, the click of feet on hard deck. His eyes readjusted to the light and Luke stared up at the ceiling. It was unusually high, he realised.   
  
Thankfully, he found that he could move his head a few degrees either way, and he tried to see his surroundings: banks of machinery stood blinking quietly to themselves at a far wall, a large blastproof door stood opposite them. He could see the edge of a halo of wires reaching out behind his head, and could just make out scanner wires and sensor pads attached to him, wires running down and beneath where he lay. He could tell from a deep thrum behind him that most of the machinery in the room was behind him; out of his line of sight.   
  
He looked left and froze. A huge reptilian creature stared down at him, brown scales covered its body, beady eyes stared intensely at Luke's face, a long tongue flicked out and back again. Trying to force down his first reaction, which was repulsion, and acknowledge his second, which was recognition, he stared back into the creature's eyes. His stare turned from disbelief to defiance as the events slipped neatly into place in his mind.  
_Ssi-ruuk_, Luke thought, old and painful memories pushing at his consciousness.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Swh'hr'ring stared intently at the human as he woke and looked around himself. Eagerly he had watched the human's progression into consciousness and had waited to see his initial reaction to this captors. Somehow he had expected a stronger reaction to the knowledge it was the ssi-ruuk. He surely knew, as soon as he had recognized them that his would be the job of enteching the human forces, didn't he? Ah, well, even if the human had not panicked except for a few seconds when he had looked on Swh'hr'ring's face, Swh'hr'ring could be contented with gaining the knowledge that the restraints would indeed hold the Jedi. He had had some concerns over this: they had learnt from the young technician who had survived the scout mission 14 years ago that the restraints had been one of the faults in the original Skywalker project: this time they had done their research though, and he had been assured that the restraints were indeed Jedi-proof. For once, the technicians back home had not _bent the truth_. Swh'hr'ring had at first campaigned for the fleet intelligence to investigate getting a different Jedi who had not had experience with the ssi-ruuk imperium, but when it had been learned that Skywalker was the most powerful and therefore also the most suitable for the task he had conceded the point and helped prepare for this day. He whistled softly to himself; he loved it when things went to plan  
  
  
---  
  
  
Han settled quickly and with practiced ease into the gunwells seat and started flicking switches, the screens came on satisfyingly quick as he strapped in and placed the com-set over his head. Getting a grip of the controls he patched it in to the ships private comm system "All set Chewie?" he asked, getting an affirmative growl in reply "Okay: stay sharp."   
  
He watched as the _Falcon_ broke atmosphere and spiraled down towards the violent sand storms "Keep her clear of anywhere near those storms, Chewie, I have a feeling the turbulence on this planet is even worse than it looks."   
  
The _Falcon_ ripped clouds as it dived downwards. Chewie did some clever manoeuvres as they hit unexpected pockets of turbulence and the ship rocked and groaned in protest as she was battered by the raging air currents.  
  
"Chewie! I said stay __clear of those pockets!" Han gypped his friend. Chewie howled in protest and send the _Falcon_ into a stomach turning somersault to avoid a small patch of gale winds. Han gripped the controls as his co-pilot proved his point,   
  
"Okay Chewie." Han said good-naturedly "Just watch the storms."  
  
Sand and flak flew against Han's viewport as the _Falcon_ neared the ground and heavier particles swirled in the atmosphere. Han struggled to watch the skies beyond the sand screen...watching for the ship he knew had to be there to get a call through the sand.   
  
"Chewie, are they still hailing us?" He asked.   
  
Chewie growled: yes, but less frequently.   
  
Han frowned. Surely if they wanted to talk they should be hailing them _more_ frequently as the _Falcon_ went into the storms, shouldn't they? If they weren't trying to stop the _Falcon_ from entering the cloud layer, then  
  
they must have wanted Han to go in here, which meant--   
  
The ship lurched as a laser bolt seared through the sky and hit just short of Han's gunwell, "Chewie!" He shouted, "Get us back up!! Its a trap!!"   
  
He gripped the controls and fired blind into the sand storm in the direction he thought the shot had come from. Another bolt exploded to Han's right. Lights flicked of across his board and Han swore: those bolts were a damn site more powerful than anything Han had met before. Another hit dangerously close to Han's cockpit. Chewie howled and flipped the falcon 180 to protect him.   
  
"Chewie?"  
  
No answer.   
  
"Chewie, turn the damn ship over! I thought I saw where that blast came from!"   
  
Chewie complied and Han peered into the sand. He would swear he'd seen a black ship just before that last bolt had hit...Han heard Chewie howl and the Falcon dived. A black shadow shot over Han's range of view  
  
As Chewie sent the ship into a dive, he gave Han the perfect shot. Han poured blaster fire onto the ship, saw it glow slightly but not disintegrate like he'd hoped. He swore under his breath as Chewie banked the _Falcon_ around for another pass at the limping ship. He sent the _Falcon_ on a collision path towards the smaller ship. Han drained energy to the guns and fired relentlessly at the small black shape. Blurred by the sand Han couldn't make out the type, but he didn't need to know the serial number to destroy it.   
  
The _Falcon_ neared it and still it didn't explode.   
  
Han swore again, "How much can that thing take?! What is it? All shields?!" The sand seemed to clear as Chewie kept the _Falcon_ on course for the ship "Chewie pull off!! He's not gonna blow! Pull off!" Chewie howled and kept the _Falcon_ on course.  
  
"Sithspit, Chewie-"   
  
The ship exploded and the _Falcon_ burst through the fireball, burning broken pieces of hull bounced of Han's cockpit as the intense light burned his eyes. Chewie howled in victory and Han cheered with him.   
  
"You stupid son of a-" he started as Chewie brought the ship up out of the atmosphere. His words stuck in his throat as he saw three ships hovering in wait for them, stalking the space where the _Falcon_ had first entered the cloud layer. Chewie had brought the ship up a few klicks from them and howled in surprise.   
  
"Chewie get us out of here!" He shouted "How long to hyperspace?" Chewie howled: a few minutes. "Then we fight it out till then." Han said.   
  
The three ships turned and raced towards the fleeing _Falcon_. Now they were out of the sand storm Han could see them more clearly. He thought that they were vaguely familiar; a geometric design in a jet-black, but he couldn't place them. The ships rained fire on the _Falcon_ as they flashed over head "Chewie!"  
  
He howled: ten seconds. Han decided to pour the last of the guns power into the nearest ship, it glowed brightly, the engine flaring up with an orange flash and sending the ship spinning down towards a fiery end in the planet's atmosphere.  
  
"Now!!"   
  
Chewie yelled. Han gripped the controls waiting for the familiar starlines to appear: he had just drained the ship's guns of energy in that last blast; they wouldn't have lasted much longer.   
  
The starlines never appeared.  
  
"Err...Chewie?"   
  
Chewie howled in anger: the alluvial dampers had shorted out. Han swore "Stang! Well, pal it was good while it lasted-"  
  
The second of the ships blew up spectacularly next to Han's gunwell, throwing flak against his screen.   
  
"What?"   
  
A red-black ship streaked across Han's view, taking out the final ship with a well aimed blast at its thrusters. As the other ship slowed from its attack and banked around towards them Han got a good look at it.  
  
Surprised but relieved he let out a sigh of relief "Chewie patch us in-"   
  
"Solo? When are you ever going to learn?"  
  
"One day, Jade, one day." He answered as he powered down the guns and slipped of the headset. Climbing back down/across he dropped to the Falcon's main corridor and entered the cockpit. Mara Jade's ship, the Jade's Fire, flew shotgun to the Falcon. Han started punching up diagnostics to check she was still working.  
  
"Can you still fly?" Mara was saying as watched warning lights flash across the screen. None were serious though: the _Falcon_ was so cross-wired she could fly with half her systems down.  
  
"Yeah thanks to you...or maybe no thanks to you? Where the hell is Karrde anyway? He was supposed to meet us here and instead we're welcomed by open turbolasers. What's the deal, Mara?"  
  
She seemed to hesitate "Look, Solo, I'm sure Karrde will explain it all to you himself. I'm just here as escort. Follow me in. " Han was about to ask how she had known to find them here anyway, but she cut off the channel before he could answer back. He glared at the comm, looked at Chewie "Well, I guess we better follow her. Its not like we can go anywhere else anyway." Chewie woofled his disapproval but complied. A slightly more battered _Falcon_ once again headed down towards the turbulent atmosphere.   
  
  
---  
  
  
Luke stared at the ssi-ruuk. It looked back him, its Force sense touched with excitement. Luke felt like a laboratory animal. Trapped. The ssi-ruuk was not that tall compared to other ssi-ruuk Luke had seen, and was not as scaled as some, but apart from that Luke was struck by how much the alien resembled Firrwirung, the ssi-ruuk who had controlled Dev Sibwarra for so long. Controlled him.   
  
Luke frowned at the huge lizard. Why weren't they trying the same trick on Luke, as they obviously meant to keep him alive, and must know that Luke would try to escape. Did they know that any type of hypnotism probably wouldn't work on Luke? Were they simply not bothering. No, that didn't feel right. So how did they plan on keeping him?  
  
The brown ssi-ruuk stepped over to a side panel that Luke thought looked like a comm unit and whistled into the receiver. He had to strain his neck into the restraints to see, but Luke thought he saw the face of a larger ssi-ruuk appear on the screen. While the two aliens talked Luke worked at the straps. He could feel them in the Force but he couldn't find an ending to the circular rings: it was like a continuous piece of metal. There had to be a way to release them. If he couldn't pull the two apart there were other ways of freeing himself from them. He felt for the structure of the metal, searching for its weakness. In most metals he would have been able to change the structure of the atoms, perhaps thinning it until it could be broken, but the structure of this metal was stronger even than durasteel: held in a tight lattice that would not be moved.  
  
Luke, still tired and weary, gave up after ten minutes of pulling at the atoms with the Force. He had thought nothing was immovable with the force, and probably it wasn't, but then he wasn't infinitely powerful in the Force. There _were_ limits.   
  
He let his head lay back on the table as he allowed his mind to rest. Luke thought back to Bakura, back to 15 years ago. Then he had had a vision after Dev had warned him of the ssi-rruk's plan, of the galaxy being a supply ground for the ssi-ruuvi army. Luke shuddered as he thought about it, wishing there could possibly be another reason why he was here, alive but unable to move. But he could think of only one.   
  
After Luke had freed himself on the first ssi-ruuk cruiser to attack, Dev had told Luke that the ssi-ruuk had been able to adapt their entechment machinery so that Luke would be able to use the Force to entech humans for the aliens from a distance. Luke remembered the sickening feeling of the ssi-ruuk battle droids, tortured human souls screaming out for freedom. Luke shut his eyes. Then he had resisted their attempts, if, as he thought, they were trying again, he wouldn't let himself do it. He didn't know of any way they could force him to entech, except by hypnotism, and Luke was sure that if he was prepared for it, he would be able to resist.  
  
He hoped so, anyway.  
  
A horrible thought struck Luke as he lay there staring at the ceiling: what had they been doing earlier? He had a vivid memory of lying in a room, his head covered with...with something metal and alien to him, he remembered the touch of the metal against his skin and the feeling of being suffocated as his senses switched of...and the steady thrumming of...of something. The memories didn't seem to match. Were some made up? Were all of them made up, or none? He wished he had time to rest and regain his strength, because his doubted he would be able to stand even if he did escape these bonds.  
The small brown alien signed off and walked towards Luke. It peered at him, whistled at him. Luke didn't understand a word it had said, and was about to see if he could gain a hold on the excited aliens mind, when a cool mechanical voice said from behind him,   
  
"Welcome, Jedi Skywalker."   
  
Luke stared in disbelief, a droid? It wouldn't have been hard to get a droid and program it with both the ssi-ruuvi and basic languages, it was just that Luke had always thought of the aliens as being totally alien. Now, suddenly they were able to speak to him, if only through proxy.   
  
"Funny, I don't feel very welcome." was best retort Luke could think of, under the circumstances. The droid whistled back in ssi-ruuvi at the alien. It seemed to frown, though it was hard for Luke discern emotions from the creatures. The heavy blast door opposite Luke's bed/table started to pull upwards slowly. _Must be heavily shielded_, he thought. The larger blue ssi-ruuk Luke had seen on the comm stepped in, with 3 p'w'ecks brandishing paddle beamers at its side. He whistled at the younger alien and the two turned to look at Luke.  
  
The big blue alien finally decided to speak. "Human, I would like to welcome you aboard this cruiser." Luke just stared serenely into the big aliens eyes, trying to read into its mind at the same time. "We hope that you will be cooperative in the following weeks."   
  
Luke could almost see a gleam in its eye as the droid translated this last. So, he is hungry for battle, Luke thought. I hope he never gets to see it. "It is your honor to help us to bring these worlds into the ssi-ruuk Imperium for" the droid whistled a name that Luke could not catch, but guessed it must either be the political or military leader of their race. The droid started to say something about what would happen if Luke would _not_ cooperative but Luke interrupted.   
  
" I hope you have a better plan for holding me than with these." he said, trying to keep the ssi-ruuk off-guard: he didn't want them getting too comfortable with thinking Luke would help them.   
  
The blue alien whistled the droid translated "The restraints currently holding you have been tested for every eventuality. They are inescapable. But please feel free to try and escape if it will make you feel better."   
  
Sarcasm, Luke thought, just did not suit droids.  
  
"Thank you, I will." He said, making sure his voice dripped with his own sarcasm.  
  
"You will have noticed the metal plate attached to you skull. This is simply to help with your function-do not concern yourself with it."  
  
Perhaps something was lost in the translation, but if do not concern yourself with it' wasn't a big clue that it was important, he didn't know what was.   
  
He stretched out to the Force and felt for the plate. He could feel where it stretched into his skin and beyond. It was complex: he traced the energy flows in the Force and recognized the pattern vaguely.  
  
Though it sounded absurd, it reminded him of the diagram plans for a remote circuit that Luke had seen a few times during his time with the Alliance. They had been useful in guerrilla tactics: remote droids used as high-energy bombs on sabotage missions without risking the saboteurs too. But, Luke thought woefully, they had been nowhere near as complex as this, or as advanced. He wouldn't dare try and pull it free: he could feel its tendrils reaching past bone and into grey.   
  
Bringing himself back to awareness, he opened his eyes and stared up at the two aliens watching him intently.   
  
"I'm impressed." He said. Perhaps if he acted submissive they would become complacent and make a mistake: give him a window of opportunity.   
  
The droid walked into view and Luke caught his breath. It was a C3 protocol droid, and though the voice bore no resemblance the droid did look strikingly like threepio. "We are enroute to our first target where you will learn the capabilities of the chip." it said. Luke couldn't help but notice the glimmer of anticipation in the smaller ssi-ruuk's eye at the thought of this_. He doesn't care about the battles,_ Luke thought, _he just wants to see if this _thing_ they've put in my head works_. Two different minds, two different passions, but both so blood thirsty.   
  
Of course, Luke would never entech anybody. He thought he could defy whatever the chip did. He was, after all, the only one who could reach out with his mind and touch the Force: he would simply refuse to touch it. All the same, he had been naively certain of himself in the past and fallen badly, but that had been a long time ago. Still, he hoped it took them a long time to reach wherever they were going. Maybe in that time he would be able to find a way out of these restraints.  
  
The smaller ssi-ruuk whistled and the droid translated, "Rest now, you must be very tired."   
  
Luke thought it was an odd statement, almost suggestive. He didn't fell tired at all anymore, but he decided to pretend that he was so that he could concentrate on freeing himself. He laid his head back against the table and nodded in agreement with the droid, closing his eyes as he did. They whistled to each other, then turned to leave. He frowned at them as they left with their accompaniant guard of p'w'ecks.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Luke was alone. He looked at the ceiling, traced its patterns as he tried to think of a way out of this mess, and as he tried to think back to what had happened on Cassrine. He vaguely remembered wandering through the forest behind the hotel. It had been raining hard: he had gone out to get some fresh air. He frowned. He couldn't remember what had happened next, everything was blurred: he thought he could remember trying to reach Leia...but he hadn't been able to. He hoped she was all right. He _should _have been able to reach her, even if she was sleeping. No, she had to be all right: he had felt her calling out to him whilst he was still coming around. He thought back to that contact: remembered being jealous of her. He'd never felt like that before: and he had no reason to envy her life, not now, but it had felt so just when he was waking. That didn't make sense. Neither did his amnesia: surely he would remember anything to do with the ssi-ruuk, but he didn't. The memories just didn't seem to be there. How had they done it? He remembered feeling a little dizzy whilst they were on their way to the hotel, but he'd figured it was from that insect bite that--insect bite? That didn't seem right, now that he thought about it, it didn't seem right at all. A memory flashed: Leia standing disheveled and tired staring out across Nam Chrosis' flat sand plains...had he been drugged? He would have known wouldn't he?   
  
Not that it really mattered anymore: for now he should try and get free, but he was so tired, he didn't think he had the energy to movehe hadn't felt this tired since after Endor. Luke felt himself dropping into sleep. But I'm _not_ tired he thought...I'm _not_. His mind started to close down and he let himself fall into sleep. Maybe he was tired, after all....  
  
  
---  
  
  
The ride down was less tense this time, with the Jade's Fire leading them wide of the strong winds until they got within a few hundred meters of the ground. Han stared out the cockpit tensely, watching for any more surprises. Chewie said something,   
  
"I don't know Chewie but I don't like it. She just turns up out of nowhere and then gives no explanation. But I think we have to trust her. For the moment anyway."   
  
Han watched Mara's ship deftly avoid the hot air currents. Yeah, she had turned up at the just the right time: like she had known just when to strike. When Han thought back to how she had taken out those two ships, he realised she had used a very useful tactic very efficiently: surprise. But she had dropped out of hyperspace and fired straight away, without stopping to look at the scene in front of her. It was like she had known exactly where they would be and had been prepared. And he didn't like it.   
  
Without warning the _Falcon_ broke out of the cloud layers and skimmed the surface of the planets sand dunes. Mara banked her ship around a tall dune and vanished from view. Han followed her closely, ever suspicious, even of Mara. The _Falcon_ cleared the dune and Chewie growled in surprise. A huge fortress loomed before them. Shielded from the harsh winds by the huge dune and hidden from sight, it blended easily into the background. Landing pads sprawled at its feet with prefab buildings serving as temporary shelters for ships and crews. Mara brought the Jade's Fire towards the nearest landing strip and set her down onto the rough surface.   
  
Following her, Han brought on the repulsors and lowered the _Falcon_.  
  
  
---  
  
  
"Okay, Karrde, do you want to tell me what all that was about." Han said sharply, walking towards Karrde who stared back solemnly. Since they had landed here, Han hadn't been able to get anything out of Mara: she hadn't even stayed around longer than to point Han in the direction of the room he now came into. All of Karrde's other associates were deliberately avoiding him.   
  
"Solo, perhaps I should explain."  
  
"Yeah, perhaps you should," Han said with a tinge of sarcasm. "I didn't know I'd have to risk my neck getting down here, you could have told me!"  
  
Karrde put down the datapad he'd been studying and turned to Han "Will you come inside, this may take a long time to explain and Byphssm gets cold very quickly at night." His temper broken by the statement, Han and Chewie followed Karrde into a simply clad room. Karrde gestured to a lounge area at its back and sat down himself. Han sat opposite and Chewie came to sit by him. Han waited.   
  
Karrde still seemed hesitant, but he said, "I'm sorry I had to get you away from Coruscant to tell you this news. I'm afraid it wasn't the safest place to talk about these things."   
  
"You mentioned strange reports." Han prompted, adopting a slouch as he waited impatiently for an explanation.  
  
"Yes, some more disturbing than others I'm afraid. You probably know that I have a lot of associates in the rim territories; they have connections to a lot of the smaller settlements out that way. The territory is no-mans land." He pulled up a star map on the datapad and showed it to Han, "The Republic doesn't stretch that far and the Empire is in so much disarray after their past few failures that it hasn't stepped in to claim the systems."  
  
Han looked at the map, whistled. "I see what you mean about it being a long way out." He said, noticing the system was near the edge of one of the galaxies spiral arms.   
  
"I keep a few business associates out there because it easy territory: no one complains about working beyond the law when the two biggest governments don't even acknowledge you," he smiled ryely at this and then continued, "but lately my contacts have been reporting some strange events out there and I've lost contact with several of them. May I?" He asked holding his hand out for the pad. Han relinquished it.  
  
"Here," Karrde said after a few seconds work, and handed the pad back. "All the contacts who we haven't heard from in well over month." as Han watched, star systems began to glow red, spreading out from the far end of the galaxy in a very symmetrical pattern. "You'll notice where the pattern points to." Karrde said. Han watched as the red glow spread towards Republic space.   
  
"Do you know why they haven't reported in yet? " He asked putting the pad back on the table as the spreading stopped.  
  
"No, we can't raise them at all. Neighbouring systems report nothing and then go silent themselves. Of course, I've sent in ships to find out what's going on." He frowned, a strange expression passing over his face. "The first ship I sent in didn't come back. Nor the second or third. No comlinks, no distress calls, not a whisper: they just disappear. I sent in the _Peregrine's Nest_, Aves ship. He never came back." Karrde stared intently at Han. "He was one of my best people. I can't afford to keep losing ships and more importantly people. After loosing Aves, I've been reluctant to send anyone else in. That's when I came to Coruscant: to get the Republic interested."  
  
"Use us as the bait, Karrde-"  
  
"Look at the facts, Solo." Karrde interrupted him, "Whatever's happening is spreading towards Republic territory, I _thought_ you might be a little concerned."  
  
"I am, and I'd be willing to bet the New Republic military would be too, but that doesn't explain why you couldn't tell us on Coruscant or just call us."  
Karrde glared, "I couldn't tell you on Coruscant because I think you have a spy in the hierarchy."   
  
Han just stared at him, "Come on, where did that idea come from?"  
  
"We've heard rumours. Understandably, it has probably escaped your attention that a lot of Republic shipping has been going missing out on the rim." It had? Han hadn't heard any of this.  
  
Chewie, who had kept silent through all this, spoke up "You had? When did you hear that?" he asked him Chewie whuffled: the flight from kashyyuuk had been long and boring...he'd caught up with all the other news on the nets whilst he had the chance.  
  
"So, you think whatever been happening at your colonies is happening to the shipping to? "  
  
Karrde nodded "Awfully coincidental otherwise, don't you think?"  
  
"That still doesn't explain you spy theory." Han said,  
  
"Its not a theory anymore. Your attack when you came here is proof that the spy exists. How else would those ships have known exactly when and where you were going? Who did you tell?"  
  
Han thought about it. "Not many people really," he replied, "but enough that I cant tell you who would have betrayed that information."  
  
"That's a shame: it would have made things a lot easier. We first thought that there must have been someone on the inside of the government when we realized how little publicity the disappearances were getting. That and that the ships that disappeared were redirected of normal flight routes by someone high up."  
  
Han stared "You mean someone deliberately sent them to...to whoever these people are? "  
  
"That's the theory, yes. And they sent those fighters after you too. "   
  
"Did you know they would be there waiting for us?" Han asked, his temper rising again.  
  
"We thought they probably would if you really did have a spy in the know. But," he said loudly as Han began to say something, "_But_, we didn't know for sure, and it was the only way to test out the theory."   
  
"I don't much appreciate being dragged along like that." Han said sourly,  
  
"I know, but any comlink we might have made would probably have been monitored, and we didn't want to send the spy into the woodwork. Now we know for certain that one exists: but they don't know we know." He smiled, "For once we have the advantage."  
  
"I don't call it much of an advantage, Karrde..."  
  
"No, but there it is. Now, though we have to decide what to do about these attacks, I-" His comm beeped for attention. He lifted it. "Karrde."  
  
Mara's voice came over the comlink "We've put those ship designs through the files." She said, her calm voice not betraying any emotion.  
  
"And?"  
  
"And nothing. There's nothing similar that we've ever met."  
  
"Hmm. Well, see if you can trace any of the design signatures. Call me if you find anything." He signed off and looked at Han, "The other advantage of having you come here was of course getting our first look at their ships. Mara recorded all the information she could from them. Hopefully it'll give us a clue as to who they are. Otherwise...well, who could possibly want those outer systems?"  
  
Han shook his head "I don't know, a few smaller empires have been taking interest in some of the old Empire's territory lately, the Yevethra not the least, but these are totally unknown. They don't even seem to have a point of origin." Han looked at the map again. He thought he recognized it vaguely.  
  
Chewie howled at him "Hmm....what? Oh, I just thought I recognized the area, that's all."  
  
"Did you ever do any smuggling out there?" Karrde asked. Chewie howled a negative as Han turned it over in his mind.  
  
The memory clicked "Bakura? Yeah, isn't Bakura near there?"  
  
"Not really. But you're in the right end of the galaxy. Why?"  
  
"No reason really, I just thought we might be able to persuade them to help us,"   
  
"I'd think after that mess at Corellia that the New Republic were the last people they would want to talk to."   
  
Han nodded "Yeah, but if we get desperate their probably worth a try."   
  
"Lets hope we don't get desperate then. I don't really want to be relying on a 'might help'. "  
  
"No. I better get this information back to Coruscant. Whoever 'they' are. They're moving fast."  
  
"Normally I would ask you to stay a while first, but under the circumstances-"  
  
"We'd better get back." Han finished the sentence for him. He began to rise out of his chair, "Karrde thank you-" Chewie howled something quietly at Han.  
  
"What's this about the 'other question'?" Karrde asked.  
  
Han scowled at his co-pilot "I _was_ getting around to it." He said. "I didn't just come here because you asked me to, Karrde. I need your help. I need you to see if you can't come up with some information. "  
  
"Really. Cash or account?"  
  
Han scowled "Considering I'm about to run off to get the military to help you with your missing systems neither would be my choice."  
  
"A joke Solo. Just a joke. How can I help?"  
  
"We've found evidence that Luke's death was a fake." Karrde's face remained neutral though his body language belied some surprise "We think it was a set up. I was hoping you might be able to help us find out what happened. We have no idea where he could be,"  
  
"You think he's alive?"  
  
"Yes, and he might need help, because wherever he is, Leia can't find him."  
  
"Solo, I hate to break this to you but there must be hundreds of people who would have liked to have seen Luke dead."  
  
"Yes but how many would want him _alive_?"  
  
"And how do you keep a Jedi under your control? What makes you think he's alive?"   
  
Han launched into his explanation, Karrde looked skeptical at the whole story "Normally, I would say that its not that much to go on. But then, I know Luke well. Are you sure they didn't just get the dating wrong?"  
  
"I've had them go over it about ten times. The dates are right."  
  
"Hmmm, well where Skywalker is involved, anything is possible. I might still be inclined to say it is a fluke, especially considering that Leia can't seem to reach him, but it all seems a little coincidental."  
  
"What does?"  
  
"Luke's death coincides almost perfectly with the first time we lost contact with one on my associates." He pulled up the dates on the pad "Yes, the first disappearance was 2 days before Luke's 'death'. "  
Playing a hunch, Han asked, "What did your associate deal in?"  
  
"Uhh...hang on. Yes, glitterstem. Spice."  
  
"Really." Han said dryly, his mind working.  
  
"What, Solo?"  
  
Han turned to him "What I didn't tell you was that the drugs we think they used to knock Luke out with were spice and gastine. Coincidence?" Karrde frowned, seeing where Han was going with it. "No, I doubt it was very much. If the two events are connected, your best bet might be to get the New Republic investigating this as soon as possible."  
  
"Yeah, I'd be willing to bet that whoever knows what's happening out there knows what's happened to Luke too." 

Chapter Two: "Not a Problem" is a point of view

Admiral Sh'rtokh clicked his teeth at the scene before him. The command staff waited anxiously for him to begin the briefing. He could almost touch the tension in the air. Excitement, anticipation, the thirst for war. Though the ssi-ruuk were not supposed to lust for war, many of its fleet's commanders had only got their high rank through their blood thirst. His own emotions now were tinged with hope as he surveyed the fleet's Generals and Admirals. His to command, his to take the glory of this war.   
  
He began by asking for area reports, one by one the holographic projections reported in countless reports of success: the admiral sat listening impassively, but smiling on the inside. Reports of the outer planets falling under their sway: no ships escaped to warn the humans that the flood was coming.   
  
"We have met some resistance as the operation progresses, Admiral." His youngest captain was saying "Of course, this was to be suspected. Though we can stop word getting out about our ...occupations." He seemed to taste the word as he said it "We can do nothing about the humans becoming suspicious as they loose contact with their outer territories. Groups of ships have come into the occupied areas to investigate, but all have been...disabled." The admiral had already heard these stories, but he had heard a slightly less victorious tone given to them.   
  
"Really." He said dryly. "_All _victorious?"  
  
There was an edge on his voice and the commander heard it. He squirmed in his seat "Umm. yes Admiral, mostly. We...err...did have some problems with one ship over Sele4."   
  
"Sele4? That isn't one of the planets we have mounted a major offensive against is it?" One of the older captains said.  
  
"No. It is one our contacts showed us to for the acquisition of certain goods needed for the offensive."   
The admiral punched keys on the desk in front of him. A holographic projection sprang up of a turning arid, yellow planet.  
  
"We left a patrol behind after we left the system for the planet Cassrine, but they were attacked by an unidentified ship. The patrol won the battle and the other ship was destroyed." The captain tried to defend himself.  
  
"Not destroyed captain. I read that it was caught in the gravity well and fell through the planets atmosphere. Exploding above the north eastern hemisphere over the planets largest land mass..."  
  
"Err, yes sir, but no one could have survived the explosion."  
  
"Even so, I am hesitant to ignore any threat. I think the Sele system will be the perfect place to for our first offensive into human territory, and the 4th planet will be our target, " He brought up a smaller holo on the display with details of it's defensive status "I intend to take out the defences of this planet. It is rich in resources. Mainly a meeting place for mercenaries and businessmen, it is poorly defended though should still prove a challenge."   
  
He looked around his command staff, all were leaning in close to the projection, a gleam in their eye "It is important we win this. I should not prove too difficult. A few cruisers and a few squadrons of snub ships.   
Think of it more as a proving ground. Once we have secured the planet I will send out a patrol to the planet to make sure the captains security is indeed justified and all occupants of the ship were destroyed." He let his threat sink in before carrying on "For the past few months we have been quietly preparing for our first major attack: the time has now come. We now have the necessary resources and tactical information, and thanks to Elder Fr'h'tokh we also have a weapon which our brothers did not have at Bakura. Elder? Please explain the current situation to us." He said.  
  
A twelfth projection appeared next to the fleet commanders, this one of two ssi-ruuk stood side by side, a large blue and a smaller, younger rust one. Elder Fr'h'tokh spoke first.  
  
"Greetings High Admiral. As you will all surely know by now, we have secured the help of Jedi Skywalker for the entechment process," there were a few commanders who smirked at the wording of this, but the Admiral silenced them with a look, "Indeed, the wording is not so out of place. We have learnt much from our brothers' attempts 14 years ago. We believe we know have sufficient knowledge and technology for us to make the operation viable."   
  
A seasoned captain spoke up at this, "Elder, if I remember true, Skywalker was unwilling to help with that offensive and we were unable to control him. How is it that we have taken such a risk now? Surely we don't need his help to win this war." Fr'h'tokh recognised the ssi-ruuk: he had opposed the capture of Skywalker from the beginning but had been overruled.  
  
"It is true that Skywalker will not willingly help us. But that should no longer be a problem or a risk. We have taken measures against all possible circumstances. Our chief technical assistant will explain these in a moment, but first I should like to point out that by having Skywalker with us, we have another advantage: the human's believe he is dead. Their preoccupation with his death has allowed us a valuable window in which to secure our position here. And also, do not forget that Skywalker was in command of the attack force that defeated our brothers: we would not want to meet him on any other side."   
  
"I think you overestimate his abilities elder I-"  
  
"_Captain_." Fr'h'tokh said, stressing the word "You are right: we probably don't need his help. But we _can_ use it. It is well known that his sister is the Chief of State of these humans, his capture allows us many advantages beyond simply his own abilities."  
  
"But the risks Elder--"  
  
"Enough!" The Admiral interrupted, annoyed by the bickering, "The fact remains that we have him all the same. I, personally, believe this to be an advantage, and I would advise you not to stress the point." the edge in his voice quietened his protests, "Please continue Elder."  
  
"Thank you," Fr'h'tokh bowed slightly towards the Admiral, "Skywalker's help should allow us an unlimited supply of droids, we will be able to keep power systems onboard fully functional and with optimal power, we will not run out of battle droids." He paused, allowing them to take this in "And we will not have to spend valuable time capturing the humans and enteching them. Our offensives can now be swifter, we will allow them no time to adapt. The more they loose: the more we win."  
  
The room buzzed with excitement, but no one spoke. Fr'h'tokh enjoyed their anticipation. They all understood what this meant: an unlimited supply of droids would make them all but indestructible.  
  
"You speak of these benefits but do not say how we will achieve them. Tell us how you plan to get the Jedi's help."  
  
The smaller rust coloured ssi-ruuk shifted his stance and began to speak, "Elder Fr'h'tokh is quite correct that we will have Skywalker's help." He said, addressing the Admiral "Weerr, that is _I_ have developed the system by which this will be achieved." He beamed with pride. "We know hypnotism will not work on a Jedi, so we had to approach the problem differently. We did consider using his own life energy in a droid but it was debatable as to whether he would still control the...'Force'. The energy field the Jedi get their power from."   
  
Swh'hr'ring waited for them to respond. When they didn't he continued anyway, hoping they understood. "So we went halfway. We developed this." he picked up a small metallic object from a table just out of view and held it up so that they could all see what it was. "This is the solution" he said proudly "this combines our droid control technology and the humans natural affinity to use the Force. This little chip is inserted just behind the cerebral cortex: It can then control the mental actions of the subject. As with reactions which are out of the control of the Will, it causes the body to react to stimuli without allowing the subject to stop it. It is totally involuntary: droid circuits control much of the mental activity that the subject has no control over, whilst it uses the human energy source to power it, making it akin to a remote activator. It allows us into the Jedi's brain without having to entech him. It effectively reduces the subject's Will to near nothing."  
  
Murmurs spread out across the room at this. To be able to use the Jedi's talents without the need for his co-operation? It was perfect.   
  
"We have yet to test it, but preliminary test show that it works, so far we have been able to induce various conditions on the Jedi. Most recently, we were able to cause sleep without his intervention. We have no reason to doubt that it will work"  
  
"Is it necessary for the Jedi to be conscious to work? It might be convenient if he was unconscious."   
  
"Unfortunately, we still need him to be conscious so that we can target certain ships and people to be enteched if we need to, and because he cannot reach the Force as well when he is unconscious, but it shouldn't prove a problem. He will not be able to resist it anymore than he could resist any other involuntary reaction."   
  
Swh'hr'ring finished his speech and stepped back. He thought it had gone well, as long as they had understood him, he doubted some of them even understood how the entechment machines worked.   
  
The Admiral looked sternly at his officers "With Skywalker's help this planet will be our first target. You have one day to prepare before we jump to hyperspace." He whistled softly "Then we shall see our first victory for the Imperium."   
  
  
---  
  
  
Han scowled and threw himself down into one of their apartments sofas as Leia followed him into the room.   
  
"Han-" She started.  
  
"Not now, Leia, okay? " He grabbed a cushion from the seat and twisted it in his hands. He hadn't expected them to be all that worried about the news he'd got from Karrde, but he hadn't expected to react like _that_. Screwing the cushion round in his hand he watched his wife carefully sit opposite him and put on her diplomatic mask. She waited for him to speak, her own thoughts unreadable in that placid face.   
  
"Aw, hell, Leia." Han shouted, throwing the cushion fiercely against the wall "What the hell's wrong with them? What, didn't I spell it out clearly enough for them? Anybody'd think they just wanted to bury their heads in the sand and hope it'll all go away."   
  
"That's probably what they do want Han," Leia said as she leaned back into the sofa, "we don't need any more problems right now."  
  
"That's a pathetic excuse and you know it," he accused her, "We both know the real reason why they won't act."   
  
"You can hardly blame them for not trusting the source." she said, holding a hand up before he could reply "_I_ trust Karrde but they won't. And with Ackbar in command of the fleet your not going to get round the military, plus there's a lot of opposition to listening to rumours from half-identified smugglers. We're still trying to pick ourselves up from the mess out at Corellia, no one wants another war, another Koornact Sector. "  
  
"I know that Leia, it's just that, well, I have a bad feeling about this." She grinned at that,   
  
"Don't say _that_! You know it only makes things worse."  
  
"Yeah, well, maybe then they'll pay attention to what's happening out there." He replied lightly.  
  
"It _is_ a long way out, Han. And we've never tried to take those sectors for ourselves. As far as most of the senators are concerned they couldn't care less who has them."  
  
"But you're the Chief of State, cant you pull a few strings? I did kind of promise Karrde." He used his best pleading look.  
  
She didn't buy it. "Han, we're a democracy. You know I cant do that."  
  
She'd expected him to reply with a light-hearted comment, but his face dropped and he leaned towards her anxiously. "Not even when you know something's going on out there that we don't know about?"   
  
"No, Han I-"  
  
"Leia...it might lead us to Luke." He said softly. Her mask broke but she kept calm.  
  
"That's not fair Han. I know, but I...I can't." She turned away from him and walked towards the far window.  
  
"Why'd you have to be so damn dutiful when you know it's going to cost the whole Republic. It's not like you're going to be doing anything that's not for their benefit."  
  
She shook her head "I know but...it's complicated. I cant be seen to act simply because I think it might lead me to my brother. It would undermine our leadership."  
  
Han shook his head at that. This just didn't sound like Leia.  
  
"Hun, I think you have to ask yourself what's more important here, keeping the New Republic spotless, or getting your brother back alive?"  
  
His words hit her but instead of her anger flaring, all she felt was a dull ache. "I've been asking myself that all day." She turned to face him, "I was raised to believe in working for the whole society, not just yourself. To do things for the greater good, and I still believe in that. Or at least I thought I did. But if it comes down to it: I'd send the whole damn fleet after Luke if I could. After my own personal needs. My whole diplomatic..._training_ goes against it but I can't help it. The council would have my neck for it but I'd still do it. It scares me to think I could reject my life's work for that. But I can't send the whole fleet after him. I don't know where to look: we only have an area, and Ackbar would never agree. I at least need to have some sort of public backing." She looked away out the window again.   
  
"Leia, its not a crime to care about your twin brother, no matter what you 'training' says. And maybe we don't need to send the whole fleet. I'm not sure it would do that much good anyway, considering we don't know where exactly to send them."  
  
She looked at him curiously "What are you thinking Han?"  
  
"That we rattle up a few well placed friends and arm them to the teeth, send them on a wild goose chase after whoever is silencing those systems."  
  
She could see his mind working deviously, whenever he got that look on his face she knew he was about to do something really stupid or really brave "Who?"  
  
He grinned widely.

**_  
_**Chapter Three : There IS a try, but it wont help

Time stretched like hot plastic. Luke clung to his awareness, shying from the force and rejecting his own minds attempts to pull him outwards. The aliens watched in passive enjoyment. The smaller one hopped from foot to foot in anticipation. This was the time then, he thought. He could barely feel his body against the heavy table or the dull ache where the circuitry reached past his vision. He wondered if this were a test or if they really were at war, but daren't reach out to see, he kept himself closed in and concentrated on being alone. But he wasn't alone, he could feel the nervous stare of one of the aliens p'w'ecks as it honked in distress at being held down by 2 larger ssi-ruuk. It's eyes wide and its heart pounding, Luke could feel its fear radiating outwards.   
  
_No_ Luke reminded himself, _don't feel it. Don't feel anything. Keep yourself shut off._  
  
The larger blue ssi-ruuk whistled something at the smaller one. It nodded eagerly, and flicked it's tongue out in anticipation. From behind him the protocol droid translated:  
  
"Please relax. This is just a trial. Reach out and entech that p'w'eck and you will be left in peace."  
The way the droid said it made it sound like it was the most reasonable of requests. Luke glared at aliens standing opposite.  
  
"I don't think so," he said, "If you don't have a better plan than that you might as well give up now." Luke knew they obviously did have a better plan, but he was trying to by time, and to try and get them to tell him what they planned. That way, at least he'd know what he was up against.  
  
The larger alien seemed to laugh at Luke's remark. He whistled something to the droid- "Very well, we will make this a true trial of Swh'hr'ring's' design." The smaller brown alien practically skipped over to the large control bank behind Luke, whistling orders to the aliens holding the p'w'eck down. The hum of machinery behind his head seemed to increase.  
  
"Just relax." The droid said.  
  
Luke was still wondering how on earth they were going to get him to entech the creature when he felt the Force begin to flow through him  
  
_What!?! _  
  
He hadn't done anything. He tried to shut out the force, building up barriers against its flux of energy.  
  
He had a _terrible_ feeling about this.  
  
Something in the way the big blue alien had laughed unnerved him. He wouldn't entech the p'w'eck. He _wouldn't_.  
  
He watched in despair as the barriers crumbled to nothing, his own mind systematically destroying them faster than he could build them until his consciousness was laid bare to the Force. Peripherally he was aware of the blue alien's smile at the look on Luke's face. He tried to break of his connection, but couldn't; it was like his control had been snatched from him and he was flailing in the dark against an enemy he couldn't see.   
  
Against his own mind.  
  
A memory flashed- training with Leia just before he set up the academy, whilst teaching her to reflect his attempts to read her mind, they had discovered a reflex action created in the force, Leia hadn't done anything: wouldn't have known how to make that reaction if she'd tried. It had been totally involuntary...involuntary: not under the power of her own will. Was that the answer? Had the aliens somehow found a way to get past actions under the control of his will?  
  
Panicking at the thought he tried desperately hard to pull his mind back and retreat from the touch of the Force. But he could still feel it, flowing through, now a tidal flood of energy washing over him, and he was helpless to stop it.   
  
He clenched his fingers into a ball with the effort of trying to stop the flow; his fingernails dug sharp points into his palm. He felt like he was watching it but not taking part; he felt himself reach out to the mind of the small alien across the room. It honked in surprise and then shrieked in pain, writhing in his Force grip, he felt the grip tighten even as he tried to let go of the creatures mind. The two large ssi-ruuk had to fight to keep it down. Luke felt it as his own mind tugged on the aliens; it resisted him, tearing itself away from him. But Luke grabbed it again, stronger this time, the Force flowed through him, uncontrollable and chaotic, with no direction or purpose other than to rip the alien's mind free. Its presence in the force seemed to break free of its own body even as it desperately tried to hang on.  
  
Luke didn't watch as the alien collapsed to the floor with one last shriek of agony.   
  
And then Luke screamed.  
  
The alien's agony tore at him as its presence was channelled through him, and for a moment they were one. It screamed at him, and he screamed with it, bearing its pain and confusion. Its spirit still fought to be free of him. And it hurt.  
  
It hurt like a burning fire flowing through him, it's thoughts and fears crashing into his own that were running back from it's presence. Luke felt his mind would explode, filled with the alien's and his own horror and pain at what was happening to it. The entechment machinery snatched the presence from his mind and Luke felt it rip free of him, the pain got worse as Luke thought to keep his own presence from spiralling down into the void with the alien's. He couldn't scream anymore, his throat dry from the shock, he channelled all his energy into stopping the pain.  
  
And as suddenly as it had started, it was gone.   
  
His eyes still closed, his lungs gasping for air, his heart pounding; he didn't see Swh'hr'ring beaming with pride, or Fr'h'tokh congratulating his young technician. All he felt was the cold sweat on his face, the pain in his hands where his fingernails still dug into his palms, and the dull ache of the memory of the p'w'eck's pain. Luke lay there, horrified at what he had just done, disgusted at himself for not being able to fight back. He didn't want to open his eyes and see the p'w'ecks limp body lying on the floor, or the ssi-ruuk's' glee at the success of the 'trial'.   
  
He closed his eyes to the world and shut himself out of the Force.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Fr'h'tokh bent over the Jedi.  
  
"Is it all right?" he asked Swh'hr'ring worriedly. His excitation over the entechment's success forgotten as he got a look at Luke's' face. He was pale and his eyes were squeezed shut. He had heard Skywalker scream out with the p'w'eck but had thought it was a sympathetic scream as the two minds met momentarily, and he hadn't screamed long. All the indications -from what he could make out using his own crude knowledge of the procedure- were that he was fine. But he didn't look fine.  
  
Swh'hr'ring walked over to the Elder's side and whistled. "He resisted the entechment too much, it put a lot of strain on his mind. He will learn that allowing it to happen will make it less painful." Fr'h'tokh honked thoughtfully.   
  
He knew the answer was just a guess, but none the less, he didn't doubt that it was true. His comlink beeped for attention. Holding it up he answered "Fr'h'tokh," he said.  
  
"Elder." Came the reply on the other end. "The entechment was successful, the battle droid is operating above standard levels!" The technicians voice was obviously excited. All onboard the ship knew how much this test meant.  
  
"Thank you, Fr'h'tokh out." He flicked it of and placed it back on his belt. Turning to Swh'hr'ring he said,   
  
"Congratulations, it was a complete success."   
  
Swh'hr'ring beamed with pride. "Thank you Elder! I will, of course try to make some modifications to reduce the pain Jedi Skywalker must under go in the procedure so that he might be able to continually entech subjects without the need for rest." He hopped with excitement.  
  
Fr'h'tokh frowned. "How long before these modifications can be implemented? We don't have much time before the Admiral signals us to attack."  
  
Sensing his concern, Swh'hr'ring forced himself to calm down "Not long, Elder, some of the problems I had expected did not occur. The restraints, for example. I feared the Jedi might find a way out but he did not. A few days and I should have him ready for continual entechment." He could not keep the excitement out of his voice this time.  
  
Fr'h'tokh looked at Skywalker lying still with his eyes closed shut against what had just happened. But at least he looked a little less pale. "Sedate him." He said.  
  
"But Elder I need to ask him-" Swh'hr'ring started to say, but Fr'h'tokh interrupted him putting a claw up to indicate for him to be quite.  
  
"He will need rest, sedate him and let him rest. You can question him when he wakes, meanwhile you can begin your modifications."   
  
"Yes elder." Swh'hr'ring bowed and reluctantly accepted his Elders' command. He watched Fr'h'tokh leave through he heavy blast door, wondering if the Elder had been upset with his show of emotion over the success of the entechment. But, no, Fr'h'tokh had been just as excited as he had. Thinking about what he would do to improve his machine, Swh'hr'ring walked over to get a hypo from the bench.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Luke had ignored the aliens whistling, he felt too weak to interpret their words, and the droid didn't seem inclined to help him out. He just lay, trying to come to terms with what had just happened: they had forced him to kill the p'w'eck, bypassed his will and used his power with the Force to rip the creature's soul from its body. Luke felt sick thinking about it. But he had to. He had done that to the creature: no one else. It was _his _fault. Anyway he looked at it, it seemed too incredible to think about. And yet it had just happened, despite his best efforts, despite every trick he knew, he had just doomed a p'w'eck to a tortured life inside one of the ssi-ruuk's' battle droids. Luke shivered at the memory of their tortured presence. Now he knew why the presence's inside the ships felt such despair and pain. Finally, as he heard the blast door open and close, he opened his eyes, the light blinded him for a moment, but Luke ignored it. The smaller brown alien walked toward him holding a hypodermic, Luke tried to pull back from the needle but the restraints held him firm. As he slipped into black, ugly dreams he had the unnerving impression the brown alien was smiling.  
  
  
---  
  
  
General Wedge Antilles fell very un-professionally into his bunk. After 12 hours of reconnaissance work in the godforsaken sector the military had sent him too, he didn't particularly feel the need to be very professional about anything anymore. Sometimes, just sometimes, he wondered why he was still in this game. Maybe, just maybe, he should have got out while he had the chance, like Luke did. Wedge sighed, he'd lost so many friends over the years, he hoped he wasn't getting used to it. Hiding under the covers he settled down for a quite but short nights sleep. Annoyingly, the comm beeped for his attention. He frowned. He knew better than not to answer it, Ackbar had nearly has his head one day when he'd done that, but he couldn't think who would want to contact him out here in the middle of nowhere. Plus, he'd have to get out of his bed just as it was getting comfortable. Choosing the easy option, he wrapped the duvet around him and dived for the comm.  
  
"Wedge?" Said a familiar voice.  
  
"Yeah, I'm here Han." Wedge replied, brushing sleep out of his eyes, "Do you have _any_ idea what time it is?" he said, trying not to sound too testy.  
  
"Yeah, sorry about that, but I kinda need to keep this quite." Han replied sheepishly.  
  
"Oh?" This was beginning to sound interesting..."Well, what?"  
  
"You fancy a bit of 'blind mans bluff'?"  
  
"What?" Wedge asked, genuinely confused.  
  
"A wild goose chase. Get away from that dead-end job Ackbar's got you running at the moment." Han was appealing to Wedges' obvious annoyance at this assignment. Cute.  
  
"Depends what kind goose were after." Wedge joked. Han seemed to hesitate.  
  
"Well, actually it's Luke, and a few thousand colonies that need chasing up." Wedge didn't even hear the second part of Han's answer.  
  
"What!" Wedge asked, seriously wondering if his old friend had finally lost it. "Han...."  
  
"Listen Wedge, I'm not joking here." Han was suddenly all-business "We're pretty sure Luke's alive, or at least he wasn't killed on Cassrine. Don't ask me for the details, it'll take too long, but we think it's connected to a group of colonies in the outer rim that have suddenly gone quiet."  
Wedge took it all in calmly. If Han didn't want him to ask about Luke, he wouldn't. Not yet anyway.  
  
"So where do I come into this?"   
  
"These colonies are out your way, well, between you and Bakura. Thought you might want to drop in and have a look?" Bakura. Now that brought up some memories.  
  
"I'd like to but-"  
  
"But what? Your a General, you can swing it Wedge."   
  
He sighed. Really, he should protest more, but he really did want to get out of here. But...maybe he could get more out of Han...  
  
"Ok, I'll do it, but first I want you to tell me what happened to Luke. I'm not going out there not knowing what it is I'm looking for.  
  
"What we _think_ happened to Luke." Han corrected him "Ok, I'll send the info over a more secure server. That okay by you?" Wedge grinned. Like he would have refused to go after Luke without all the facts. And Han probably knew that too.  
  
"Okay, I'll rattle up Rouge Squadron, I'm sorry I can't take more but I don't want any of the high-ups on my back."  
  
"That's okay, it's probably better of as a quiet mission anyhow."  
  
"Look, Han I can get the Rogues up and flying by tomorrow morning, so if you tell me where we're going, you can send the information we need through there."  
  
"Sure." He paused to think, "I think your probably best heading out to a little system called Rassa, and then onto a few of the neighbouring systems." Han replied,  
  
"Why Rassa?" Wedge asked, hoping or some information now.  
  
"Some of Karrde's men have gone missing there, and at the system next door, Sele. It just seems a sensible place to start."   
  
"Okay, got ya, I'll head out in the morning, but right now I need some sleep." He said, mock exasperatedly. He could hear Han laugh.  
  
"Sure Wedge, I'm gone. Good luck." He said.  
  
"Maybe where Luke's involved it should be 'May the Force be with You'. "Wedge said "Seeya, Han." He clicked the comm off and flopped back into bed. He really was going to need his sleep now.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Han flicked the comm off. Well, he thought, that had gone well, he had thought he'd need to cajole him some more, but then, he should have remembered Luke was one of Wedge's best friend. Plus, he hadn't had to mention their suspicions about a spy in the inner council. Silently, he thanked wedge for not pushing the subject to much. Leia came up behind him and draped her hands around his shoulders.   
  
"That went well." She said, mirroring his thoughts. "You think they'll find him?"  
  
Han twisted in her arms to look at her. "Sure, if he's out there Wedge'll find him. Not to mention he has Corran with him. That should help." she smiled at that.   
  
"Lets hope" she rose and stretched her arms out, yawning. "Come on, its late and I have a senate meeting tomorrow. Lets go to bed." she took hold of his hand and gently pulled him up from his seat.  
  
"Okay, sure. You know what?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"I have a really good feeling about this." He said. Leia's smile broke into a grin.  
  
"Well, it certainly makes a change." she joked as she flicked off the lounge light.

Episode 3 follows shortly....

Teaser Excerpt...

_Oh please, no, don't say something's happened to him._  
  
"He...I..." she choked. He held her to him.  
  
"We have to help him." she said, suddenly twisting herself out his grip and moving towards the wardrobe.   
  
_How? We've no idea where he is let alone what's happening to him,_ he thought, but bit back any words he might have said,   
  
"Leia..."  
  
She resolutely ignored him. Had she read his mind?  
  
"Leia, do you know where he is?" she was pulling on an old pair of trousers. Her figure was a dark shadow in the low lighting of their bedroom. She was shaking, he realised. "No. I've got to go to him. The first contact...he was in pain. It hurt, Han, Like a burning fire in my mind. I can't explain it I. I have to go to him." All the time she concentrated on getting dressed, not letting him see her face, scared that if she looked up she would see her own fears on his face.  
  
Han sighed, why did things always have to get complicated? Why couldn't they have just enjoyed her relief that he was alive?  
  
"Okay. But wait till morning. There's nothing you can do now." She paused in pulling on an old shirt, but then continued, flicking long brown hair out from the back of it. "I have to go now." she felt his hand on her shoulder.   
  
"Wait till Wedge gets back at least, we'll have more to go on, anything we do now will just be a waste. And besides: you look like you need to sleep." she had been starting to warm to the idea, but at that last sentence she flung him back from her, her anger flaring.  
  
"Sleep?! _Sleep_!!! Sleep was what stopped me from helping him the first time. Sleep was what got him in this situation. If I hadn't been _sleeping_ we'd have found him and everything would have been all right!"  
  
Her tears flowed uncontrollably now. He'd thought she had got over her guilt. He must have been wrong. His wife was very good at hiding things from him when she wanted to. He moved to hold her, letting his voice get sterner.  
  
"Leia, that wasn't you fault. You know that. Don't blame yourself for something you didn't do."  
She accepted his embrace, but her guilt stayed with her. She allowed him to hold her to him and for the second time in the past 2 months, poured out her grief on him. And again he took it, holding her up against the pain and sorrow.   
  
"Leia, this is different. He's alive."

   [1]: mailto:Vikki18@totalise.co.uk



	3. Episode Three

Disclaimer - In need of a new disclaimer instead of using the same one again, I'll just say that these characters aren't mine, I'm not getting any money and please don't sue me. thanks.

Please review and/or email me with comments, that is if you manage to stay awake long enough to finish this 3rd installment. 

Thanks go to the jedicouncil.net for it's members and it's madness, though maybe not in that order. 

Mina - vikki18@totalise.co.uk

**Abhoration and the Alternative**

**Part 3**

Chapter One : Revelations  
  
Leia gazed around the senate area. She liked it here: she'd helped to design it after the old one was blown up by Kueller. She sighed; all memories seemed to lead her to thinking about Luke these days. She thought of Kueller; she thought about the holoprojection of his burned body Kueller had sent her when Luke's x-wing was destroyed. She thought of the twins and she thought of him protecting them against all the people who had tried to snatch them from her in the past. She thought of the old Empire and she saw a young, naive Luke bursting into her cell on the first Death Star. She had to smile at that memory. Sometimes Luke seemed too serious these days, but to someone who knew him as well as she did, he seemed even more impulsive and ambitious than he did then.   
  
She realised with a start that she was thinking about him as if he was still alive. When did that happen?   
She didn't like to get her hopes up; she knew they were all doing everything they could to find him, she wouldn't be here now- she'd much rather be out chasing hunches and faint-hopes than sat here- if she wasn't looking for the spy they knew had to exist.   
  
And if they found the spy, they'd find Luke.   
  
Leia scanned the faces, she knew them all well. The thought that one of them had betrayed them -betrayed _her_- did not sit well with her.   
  
Her feet were hot, she realised. The room was too hot for her liking but it was too cool for other senators. There had to be compromises in everything they did now. She wanted to take her shoes off. She knew Gaeriel -the Bakuran senator they had met 14 years ago after Endor- used to take her shoes off during meetings. She hid a smile, thinking about what the others would say if the Chief of State suddenly took her shoes off.   
The meeting got started. It was the usual nondescript stuff. She envied Han and his lazy lie-in; he was probably still asleep in their warm bed. Not having to think about trade lanes or political infights.  
  
A group of people from a sea-world she'd never heard of had petitioned to join but another world was protesting it. There was a minor trade dispute between two planets whose major export was the same over which sectors they could sell too, the military wanted more money to increase their security around what was left of the empire at Bastion... the list went on. Leia wasn't listening too it. She was studying each of the senators, gauging their reactions, especially to the idea of stepping up on military alert, but no one seemed suspiciously annoyed by it. She sighed mentally.   
  
This could take a while  
  
---  
  
Han gazed around their small but cosy bedroom: he didn't really like the decor but he'd let Leia design it in return for her not messing with the Falcons' interior. With a resigned sigh he heaved himself out of bed. He had things to do; he couldn't just lie around all day could he? _Could he_? No.  
  
Han wondered how Leia was getting on in the senate. He'd been thinking a lot about this spy they were trying to track. It annoyed him that it was taking so long to find him. He could be doing more useful things -helping Wedge, helping Karrde, even going out on his own to find Luke- but, no. Whatever was happening out there, he and Leia needed to be here to stop who-ever-it-was from countering their every move. He knew he was far more useful staying here -it raised less suspicions about why they would have left in such a hurry- but Han couldn't help feeling a little helpless.   
  
Absently, his mind on other things, Han walked into the side of the table. Holding back a curse he hopped over to the computer desk, sitting down heavily and rubbing his foot.   
  
Stupid. He had to keep his mind on track if they were going to catch this guy.  
  
The holoscreen was still left on after last night. With nothing better to do, he decided to see if mindless television could give him an inspiration. At least that was what he told himself. Really, there was a smash ball contest on he really wanted to see...  
  
Han was just getting settled when -typically- the door chimed. Han scowled. Why did this always happen to him, huh? What, they couldn't have arrived during in the adverts. He considered for a moment just ignoring it. But only for a moment: Leia would kill him if it was something important. Hitting the record function on the screen he pulled himself up and out of the chair and stalked towards the door, determined to get rid of whoever it was as fast as possible.   
  
The door slid open to reveal the last person Han would have expected. "Karrde!" he said as the smuggler slid past him and into the room.  
  
"Solo." Karrde greeted him. "I was hoping to catch Leia with you too." No small talk -Karrde was all business.  
  
"She's in a senate meeting." he paused "You have something?" he asked.  
  
"Maybe. Maybe not. It's probably just a hunch but I figured you'd want everything looking into."  
  
Han nodded. "Well spit it out-" he stopped. Out of the corner of his eye he caught a look at the holoscreen, and felt a shiver run down his spine.  
  
Karrde turned at Han's sudden alarm "Solo-"  
  
"Volume up." He said to the computer, putting his hand up to quiet the smuggler. The computer obediently obeyed and the sound of the screen filled the silence Han's sudden response to its picture had laid on the room. Karrde didn't object, instead he turned to look at what had made Han start.

_-The proposals by Admiral Ackbar to increase security against the remains of the empire at Bastion have received heated debate from both sides of the argument. Councillor Borak, seen here a few weeks ago at the Verpine embassy, has vehemently opposed the proposals to increase military readiness of the navy, arguing that the way forward for the New Republic is in peace, not war-_

"I know him." Han whispered.  
  
"Who? Borak? He's a high councillor you've probably-" Karrde started, still confused by Han's reaction to the footage.  
  
"Not him." Han interrupted him "_Him._" he said pointing to the man stood next to Borak. Karrde turned back to the screen. The guy didn't look particularly memorable. He was quite tall with short, neat brown hair that was well groomed, smartly dressed if a little over-fashion conscious. "Who is he?" Han said to himself, then finally turning to Karrde he explained. "I've seen him before. He was on Cassrine the night we arrived. We were in a packed space port, but I can't remember what he was doing." he rubbed his temples.   
  
At last, the memory clicked.

_"Han, I can't just make people do what I want them to just because its convenient" Han looked slightly disgusted "You Jedi are no fun sometimes. Well, I guess that means we stay here tonight cause the trans-line goes nowhere near where we need to be. which hotel though" Han moved over to a public info terminal and started punching keys. Luke and Leia forced their way through the crowded building to join him... A man brushed past Han in a hurry, headed in the opposite direction to Han. He turned to tell the guy to be careful, but he was already gone. Peripherally, he noticed Luke rubbing the nape of his neck with his hand-_

_Oh no_, he thought, _it was _him_.  
  
_"We have to find out who he is." he told Karrde, heading for the door.  
  
"Now wait just a minute Solo, you want to explain to me what's going on?" Karrde put his hand out to stop Han passing.  
  
"That guy, he was on Cassrine, he brushed past me, just before Luke got ill. I'm sure it was him that got Luke." Karrde looked dubious but then just shrugged.   
  
"Okay, if that's the best lead we've got, maybe we can dig into his past and see if he had any motive to want to kill Luke." He moved to the corner of the room, fishing out a comlink from his pocket and thumbing it on. Han hoped they could dig something up on this guy, he had a hunch he was important, probably even the spy the were looking for, if he was close to Borak...  
  
"Han?" A questioning voice said behind him making him jump.  
  
"Leia." He grinned at her, then his mind caught up with him "Hey, aren't you out a little early?" He asked. She moved past him into the room, throwing a questioning glance back at him when she saw Karrde.  
  
"I felt you'd found something, so I made my excuses and left. It was almost over anyway." She added when Han looked like he was going to bring up the trying-not-to-look-suspicious argument. Instead he said, "Yeah, I think we've found our spy, you recognise him?" He didn't mention it was probably also the guy who had injected Luke as he pointed her towards the now frozen holoscreen.   
  
She studied him for a moment then "Sure, he's Borak's brother, why?"   
  
"Leia can you remember seeing him on Cassrine?" Han launched the question at her.  
  
"What?!" She looked a little shocked but regained her composure "Hang on, Luke was teaching me some memory recall techniques: let me see..." she ran back to the memories of that night. She could almost feel the rain again, hear the thunder in the distance, see Luke's pale face... and suddenly, there he was.  
  
She gasped; he was there, just before Luke started to get ill...  
  
"That's what I thought." Han said, and there was a note of pride in his voice when he said it too. "There's no other reason for him to be there. It's him, but I cant think why he'd want to do it."   
  
"No..." Leia said, thinking "His brother is totally against militarisation, I suppose that could be a way of letting these who-ever-they-are get those outer rim systems without the military knowing. But apart from that..." she shook her head thoughtfully, "I don't know."  
  
"And it doesn't explain what Luke's got to do with all this either." Han put in.  
  
"I think I can help you out on that one." A voice said from behind her. She turned around. Karrde stood behind her, a worried expression furrowing his features "I've had my people dig up all they can on him and, well, it turns out he and his brother lived for the whole of the rebellion in the Empire-"  
  
"Yes, I know." Said Leia "Borak was one of the ambassadors we took in from old-Empire sectors after Kueller."  
  
Karrde shook his head. "Wait a second, I haven't finished," he paused "His parents were killed together about 18 years ago."  
  
"So?"  
  
"By the rebellion, his parents were ambassadors on a mission to plead against the Emperor's dissolution of the senate to Tarkin..."  
  
He waited. Leia caught her breath. "They were on the Death Star, weren't they?"  
  
Karrde nodded. "I think we have our motive.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Swh'hr'ring looked up in surprise at Elder Fr'h'tokh entered the small medical bay, a troop of p'w'ecks following obediently behind. Swh'hr'ring wondered why he always had a guard with him, it was probably just a show of power for the sake of the crew. Still, it unnerved him to have so many of the unpredictable aliens in his bay armed with paddle beamers.  
  
"Swh'hr'ring, the Admiral has signalled us at attack in two hours, no less. I trust your modifications will be ready by then?" his glare almost dared Swh'hr'ring to tell him they weren't.  
  
No, they weren't all ready, but the Elder didn't need to know that, he decided, the ones that were left were only minor problems anyway, nothing that would prevent entechment. "Yes elder, the Jedi will be ready when we reach Sele4, I have been keeping him sedated until the last moment so that he might be fully rested for the invasion." He bowed low to his Elder.  
  
Fr'h'tokh whistled quietly to himself before answering "Good, I would hate to think that I had put my reputation on the line by backing this plan."   
  
There was something in the way he said it...  
  
"Doubts, elder?" He had seemed so excited when they had tested it a few days ago.  
  
Fr'h'tokh seemed to grow angry at the accusation, "None at all, as long as you are right." He warned the younger ssi-ruuk. "If anything appears to go wrong, sedate him immediately; I will come down once the battle has got underway to check on his status."   
  
Ahh, he was worried that the Jedi might not survive the process then.  
  
"He should be much better this time than when we tested him last. " He walked over to a bench and picked up a small hypo. " I have tracked down the problems he experienced as being due to a severe overload of information to his brain during the procedure." He frowned, looking over at the sedated Jedi, "Unfortunately this cannot be helped, but I can accelerate his production of endorphines -his bodies natural pain killers, so to speak- with a substance called Cotayl3A, it also acts as a non-competitive inhibitor to-"   
  
Rambling on about his pet subject, Swh'hr'ring didn't notice the Elders annoyance at him "Ah... it suppresses his pain." He put simply."I also found that, for reasons I'm not sure of yet, the implant uses a lot of ATP -energy, of a form- when Skywalker enteches, but his body cannot produce adequate amounts of it on its own, even if we were to give him a higher supplement of glucose, I considered giving the implant a direct linkage to a source of ATP, but I'm not sure if that would work, so instead, we have designed a carrier molecule, with oxidative phos-" again, the look of annoyance, "that is" he stumbled, not sure how to explain it "that umm... we give him an artificial supply that we create in this small NFIS."   
  
He walked over to Skywalker's side and pointed out a small grey box no bigger than a comlink attached to his arm, blinking away happily to itself. Again, Swh'hr'ring beamed with pride over one of his creations.  
  
"Forgive me," Fr'h'tokh said with a touch of sarcasm, "but what exactly is a NFIS?"  
  
"Oh! Umm... Negative Feedback Injection System." He replied quickly. Fr'h'tokh still looked perplexed. Another explanation was needed. "It injects various drugs as he needs them by monitoring their concentration in his blood"  
  
"Ah." Fr'h'tokh whistled thoughtfully, at last understanding it "And you are sure it will work?" He asked.  
  
"Oh, positive Elder!" Swh'hr'ring couldn't keep the excitement out of his voice.  
  
"Good, you have less then two hours to get him ready. Be ready Swh'hr'ring, I want _no_ delays." He swept out of the bay with his small band p'w'ecks following.  
  
Swh'hr'ring sighed. It was so hard to explain these things sometimes, he hoped he had done adequately, but he knew the Elder had been annoyed at all the technical jargon. Still, he couldn't stand here thinking about it, he needed to make some more last minute adjustions, and he would need to wake Skywalker to do that. He looked over at the young man lying prone on the table, wondered what it felt like to entech someone. Would Skywalker wonder at the science of it whilst he helped the Imperium grow? Would he see the irony of it: here they were, using the Force -an energy field that defied science- to fulfill the scientific potential of entechment?   
  
He whistled softly, today was going to be great day for both the Imperium and science.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Han paced outside Leia's office. He wore a thick trail into the tread of the plush red carpet, glaring at it as he walked. His hands clenched tight behind his back, he tried to suppress his annoyance. Through the frosted glass he could make out the slight form of Leia, calmly trying to persuade a difficult libraries' official to relinquish the confidential reports of Senator's movements over the past few months.   
  
It should be easier than this, he thought bitterly. All they needed to do was look through Borak's, or rather Borak's brothers', movements. It was a lead they couldn't afford not to follow, but the library was being difficult over what they would let Leia see- despite her being the Chief of State. He looked at Leia again, it was barely visible, but she was beginning to share his annoyance. They'd been in there over an hour. Sure, Karrde was doing some of his own digging into the senator's brother movement's -and where he was now, for that matter; no one seemed to know- but Han needed to do _something_ himself, other than wearing a grove into the floor.   
  
He stopped and turned to enter the room, see if he could help Leia a bit, she looked up suddenly, shot him a warning glance that stopped him.   
  
_Well, fine.   
  
_He wasn't totally without contacts, he could do a bit of digging of his own. Turning quickly on his heel, he stalked back towards their apartment.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Han dozed lightly on their sofa, papers strewn across their floor, useless titbits of information that were of no real use compared to the library records. There was a beep as their door opened. Han twisted where he sat to look over his shoulder at the opening. A tired but triumphant Leia came in, brandishing a datapad. She grinned at him as she rounded the sofa and fell backwards into the soft folds of one of their comfier chairs, "Here." She said, tossing the 'pad into Han's waiting arms, "I had to use every trick in the book to get that, so don't go losing it." She looked pointedly down at the littered floor. He caught the pad, flicked it on.   
  
Ignoring her last comment he said, "You wouldn't have thought it'd have taken so long to get a few flight routes out of them." He scanned the 'pad.   
  
Leia reached over, not getting out of her chair, to flick on another light. "No, he really didn't want to give me them. But, at least we got them without having to resort to your idea of slicing the network." She threw him an amused look. "Though I don't suppose the mind trick's I used are any less illegal." He looked up from the 'pad.   
  
"Mind tricks? Why, Madam President, our standards have dropped haven't they?" She picked up a cushion and threw it at him. He parried it with a wide grin.   
  
Leia was about to shoot back a comment when the door beeped. She frowned, but got up to open it. Karrde greeted her with a curt nod and slipped into the room. "Karrde," she greeted him, "you have something?" He went to sit down on the sofa.   
  
"You could say that." He said, pulling a smaller datapad out of his pocket. Leia moved around the back of the sofa and stared over his shoulder. "We, that is... I, managed to hack into the communications records-" Leia held up a hand to quite him, gave Han a questioning look. "I don't remember agreeing to this..."she said, a warning edge to her voice.   
  
"Well, we had to see who the guy's been calling, and besides, your diversion with that official was the perfect opportunity." She frowned at him, looked like she was about to demand a better explanation, but instead just nodded for Karrde to continue.  
  
"-we got the whole record of incoming and outgoing calls for the past half-year. It has some interesting results." He handed the pad over for her to look more closely at. She took it from him as he continued "There's an awful lot of calls going out to the outer rim, and not to planets, those are all to a ship or ships, we checked. Most of those calls go back a few months, so whatever he's been doing, he's been doing it for a while. A lot of calls coming in are from an unregistered source, too."   
  
He twisted around to get a look at Leia's face; she was carefully staring at the data. "Seems awfully odd, for a senator's aide to get calls from an unregistered source, don't you think?" Han put in sarcastically. Leia nodded.   
  
"Unfortunately, all the calls are from the same area but not the same place, so we can't pinpoint a location. Though, the call's source seems to be getting nearer, suggesting its moving inwards." Karrde added.   
  
Leia nodded again "Did you notice something else too? Over the past month or so, the other party has suddenly gone silent. "  
  
"Yes, we noticed that, Borak's brother has made repeated calls outwards and got no replies. I doubt its because the source disappeared," Karrde said  
  
"No, more like they're ignoring him..." Leia said thoughtfully.  
  
"He's done his bit and now they don't need him anymore?" Han asked.   
  
"Certainly looks that way." Karrde shifted to look at Han "What did you get from his movements?" He asked. Han handed him the pad before replying   
  
"He's made a lot of journeys to a long way away, doesn't say where. He wasn't that stupid." He said with a sly grin  
  
"_But_, he was away for the whole time we were on Cassrine, and he got back at about the same time as us..."   
  
"I don't think we need any more evidence; it has to be him." Karrde said, his voice heavy. "He has the motive and the position to do it, and all the evidence points quite squarely to him. What about now? Do we know where he is now? We really need to catch up with him and stop him causing any more trouble, though I get the feeling he's not needed anymore."  
  
"No, it doesn't say, he's not on Coruscant though, or on any registered diplomatic mission. My guess is that since these people haven't been too talkative, he's gone after them."  
  
"Which means there's no way for us to catch up with him and find out where Luke is," Leia said, a touch of disappointment colouring her words. "But at least he wont be causing us anymore trouble here. We could go after Luke..." she left the thought unended.   
  
Han shook his head, "I think we should wait 'till Wedge gets back and see what he has to say. If he has something definite, then we go. But right now, we don't know where to look, and you can't just fly out of here. It would raise too many suspicions. Are you going to take this evidence to the senate?" He asked her.   
  
She thought a moment, then looked down into his eyes. "No, if we need to get out of here and go after Luke, I don't want to be tied down by this, I don't like the idea of him going free, but if he can't do anymore harm than he has, we don't need any bureaucratic difficulties here. You saw how uncooperative the senate was when you took Karrde's information to them. They don't want to think about there being any problems at the moment. They'd be just as slow and difficult with this. I would, though, like to tell Ackbar. If we have to leave, he can bring it up in the senate without me, and keep and eye out for our spy."  
  
"I do think we have to tell someone." Han agreed "So, what now? We just wait?"  
  
"I think, for the moment at least, that's all we can do."   
  
  
---  
  
  
Fr'h'tokh watched from the comfort of the cruisers bridge as the star lines reappeared and the fleet jumped back out of hyperspace, groups of smaller cruisers winked bank into existence around them, docking bays full of their new battle droids swarming out into space. Groups of larger, manned fighters and gunboats followed them out. The manned fighters had been Fr'h'tokh's idea, he didn't trust the droids entirely and had petitioned the Admiral to us ships manned by p'w'ecks. After all, they were loyal once they had been hypnotised, and dispensable. These ships had more firepower then the smaller droids, but not as good shielding. The droids were faster too.  
  
"Elder, we count fifty fighters coming up from the surface. Most are freighters or supply ships, nothing bigger."  
  
Fr'h'tokh peered out the bridge to the yellow planet turning below them, yes, he could just about make out a group of black spots rising towards them  
  
"Good, have all fighters stand by to engage. Tell them to wait to be fired on before they attack. Signal the technician Swh'hr'ring to begin."  
  
He settled back into a comfortable stance and waited for the battle to begin.  
  
The order had come, now was the time for a real test of his little brainchild. Bringing up a tactical display on one of the larger monitors, he choose a suitable ship to start with, it was s small, one-manned fighter that was doing a lot of damage to one of the smaller cruisers.   
  
He smiled inwardly. Now was the time.  
  
  
---  
  
  
It was about to start, Luke could almost touch the smaller aliens anticipation as he brought up a complex display onto a monitor that looked vaguely like a tactical read out.  
  
Luke abandoned the Force, knowing it wouldn't do him any good, but knowing he had to try anyway. The ssi-ruuk walked towards him, the ominous hum of machinery behind Luke's head increased. Luke fought desperately as the Force began to flow through him again. The droid behind him translated the brown ssi-ruuk's string of high pitch whistles and hoots.  
  
"Relax, this time should be easier than the last. Your target has been chosen. The small fighter craft here." The droid came around the edge of Luke's bed and pointed to a blip on the screen.  
  
Luke didn't bother with any reply; instead, he concentrated on not reaching out to touch the pilots mind. Surely they couldn't just choose who they-  
  
His mind found the pilot's.  
  
"_No_." Luke shouted in anger and frustration, forcibly ripping his mind out of the pilots "I won't..." he started, but stopped as the Force drew his sense uncontrollably back to the pilots.   
  
The pilot gasped in shock as Luke smothered his senses. Luke tried to let go, but his grip on the man's mind got stronger. He felt his screams; felt the pilot clutching at his head in agony. The small ship flew erratically as the pilot lost all control of it.   
  
Luke saw/felt through the pilot's mind the hull of another ship bearing down on them. The man's mind ripped free of his body as the ship exploded in flames around them. Luke gasped at the heat and the pain of the pilot's dying body. His sense pulled the man's mind back towards him, and Luke knew what was coming next.  
  
As two minds collided in one body, Luke screamed. 

  
Chapter Two : A Little Help From Your Friends  
  
  
Well, Rassa was a waste of time, Wedge thought tiredly.  
  
Okay, maybe not a complete waste of time. It had at least told them where Luke _wasn't_, and the deserted outpost they'd found there was downright spooky, though that hadn't told them what happened. Despite the desolate appearance of the place, Wedge would have like to have stayed and try to get some answers out of the silent corridors and ships that waited patiently for owners to return who never would.   
  
Wedge sighed. Maybe Sele would offer up something a bit more productive, and not just give them more questions. Corran certainly seemed to think so, and Wedge had learned long ago not dismiss the hunches of a Jedi. Rassa could wait: it wasn't like anything was likely to happen there before they could return.  
  
A cold shiver ran down the back of his spine, he was starting to get a bad feeling about all this. One minute to realspace; Wedge took hold of the hyperspace lever and waited patiently, making sure his s-foils were out and his guns charged, running the sip through a last minute check over.  
  
Thirty seconds. He didn't know why he was getting so tense about this. Paranoia, probably. Or maybe Corran and Luke's tendency to predict the future was finally rubbing of on him.  
  
Ten seconds and there was no time left to think about what might or might not be.  
  
5,4,3,2,1...  
  
With a blur of starlines and a slight spinning sensation, Rogue Squadron had entered real space.  
  
Wedge started, combat reflexes keeping him flying despite his frozen mind. "Sweet stars..." he whispered, unable to take his eyes off the view that confronted him. Maybe he shouldn't have wished for better evidence...  
  
Ships swarmed in front of him, against the backdrop of a huge cruiser that they'd jumped so close to Wedge couldn't see the edge of. Small, almost invisible black ships attacked groups of more ragtag ships; freighters and smaller craft. Space was packed, there was almost nowhere to go, he could hardly see the big yellow planet rotating behind them.   
  
He got his control back and banked his x-wing hard left to avoid one of the strange black ships. Switching the comm to their personal frequency, he got the rest of his squadron together.   
  
"Listen up," he shouted as he watched the x-wings reform around him, "I think we just jumped into a war zone. Stay sharp and don't shoot unless someone shoots at you. Repeat: don't shoot! We don't know who's on what side yet. Acknowledge."   
  
He weaved his x-wing between the attacking ships, his face being pushed back by the force of his ship's speed, desperately he searched for a clear area of space where he could catch a moment to stop and decide what to do. Apparently, it wasn't his day. Space was swarming with the sleek, black ships that he'd first seen when they exited hyperspace and the rag tag of -what he guessed- was the planets defences squad. Which meant -if his guess was right- that the planet was being attacked and they'd jumped into the middle of an invasion.   
  
Great.  
  
He weaved in and out of the ships, noticing with what part of his brain wasn't concentrating on flying that some of them seemed to have suddenly stopped and were drifting. But he didn't have time to think about that, the squadron was now in formation behind him, and his search for a space had brought him up and close to the underside of the big, ovoid cruiser. He hadn't had chance to look closely at it until now, and as he recognised the design, his breath caught in his lungs. The memory clicked, and with it came an awful dread creeping into the back of his mind.  
  
"Wedge?" Corran's voice came over the comm, breaking his thoughts "Wedge? What's wrong?"   
  
His throat was suddenly dry and his mind struggled to recognise what his friend was saying. "I've seen these ships before, Corran." He managed. The hull of the ship was still sweeping past his cockpit; that was one big ship.  
"They're ssi-ruuk. We ran into them after Endor. Luke was in command of a battle group the Alliance sent out to Bakura after they attacked it." Wedge hesitated over the next bit,  
  
"And?" Corran prompted him,  
  
"And Luke-"  
  
He didn't get chance to finish the sentence, a pair of the sleek, black ships -their new battle droids?- had suddenly swept in for nowhere and turbolaser fire streaked across the x-wings hull. "Evasive!" Wedge shouted, turning his own ship into a sharp loop, coming up behind one of the droids, pouring energy into its shields. The thing kept on running, spitting back short, deadly bursts of energy back at him.  
  
"Damn it, blow up!!!" He shouted at the thing as it continued to soak up his fire. At last, its shields gave, Wedge's guns ripped through the armour of the smaller shipping, tearing it apart as it blew up, the explosion quenched in the oxygen-starved vacuum.   
  
"Damn it." He whispered. They had improved their shields even more since they'd last met, he realised.  
  
"Wedge! You've got a tail!" Rogue 5 shouted in his ear.  
  
"I've got it" Corran shouted back. An x-wing headed back around , firing just behind Wedge's ship at the droid stubbornly following his zigzag evasive pattern. The x-wing kept on firing, getting closer to the attacking droid  
  
"Corran pull up! He's not gonna blow!" Wedge shouted to him. The x-wing kept on coming.   
  
Wedge held his breath.  
  
The droid blew, Corran's x-wing flying through the burning debree. "Damn it Corran! Don't take so many risks." He chided him, but there wasn't any sting in his voice as he silently thanked him.  
  
"Anytime Wedge, anytime."  
  
  
---  
  
  
Fr'h'tokh pulled his beeping comlink from his pocket, but didn't stop walking as he headed for the medical bay "What is it?" he snapped.  
  
"Sir, a group of New Republic ships have just started to attack our ships. Sir, they're causing some serious damage to our battle droids." a young voice whistled to him. Damn it, he knew it had been going too well.  
  
"I'll sort it, get the fighters to attack on mass. See if that helps." He cut of the link and continued on to the medical bay.   
  
Well, this sort of situation was exactly what they had Skywalker for.  
  
  
---  
  
  
The rest of the squadron had cleared the immediate area of the droids, Wedge was beginning to figure out a way to get them out of there when one his pilots gasped "Uh-oh." He said  
  
"What?" Wedge asked, wishing he didn't have to know "I don't like the sound of that."  
  
"Switch to short range scanning." The pilot said. Wedge switched over, and his heart sank. A group of at least 20 of the droids had encircled them. And they were closing in.  
  
The battle was joined.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Swh'hr'ring looked up from his work as Fr'h'tokh entered the small bay. "Elder. " He greeted him, not taking his eyes off the screens showing Skywalker's progress. He was anxious that Skywalker would not reach a pain threshold that might stop him from enteching as effectively, but so far, that had not happened.  
  
"How does the battle go?" He asked as Fr'h'tokh approached.  
  
"Well." The Elder replied "Their ships are no match for our droids, and Skywalker is successfully taking out their better pilots that our droids are having problems with I see." He looked over at he Jedi laying on the table, his hands clenched, his face a mask of concentration.  
  
"Yes, I have been deliberately choosing the better pilots to entech." He was pleased the Elder had noticed this "I thought it would be more tactically sound." Fr'h'tokh nodded at this.  
  
"Is he enteching now?" He asked, curious that Skywalker didn't appear to fighting back too much.  
  
"No." Swh'hr'ring admitted, "He has been since the battle began, but I thought it wise to let him rest a while."  
  
  
Fr'h'tokh looked at the technician. "I would tend to agree, as the battle is going so well. However, a group of 12 Republic fighters have just jumped in system and are starting to cause some serious damage to the fleet."  
  
"I understand." Swh'hr'ring said simply, bringing the entechment machinery back online, he turned back to walk to Skywalker's side.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Luke felt the ssi-ruuk walking towards him, and knew what the droid would say. It was the same every time; they would show him which ships to take out on the monitor and it would just happen. Nothing he could do would stop it, but he felt compelled to try.   
  
The larger alien followed the smaller one to his side. Through a haze of concentration and with a sinking heart, Luke heard the droid show him who would be next to die. He had tried to shut out his awareness of the droid, but his subconscious must still have registered the information as still his mind reached out, dragging his own awareness with it. He had tried to drop back into unconsciousness, but as soon as he got near, the force seemed to swell around him and lift him out again.  
  
And he was weary. Weary from the drugs, weary from the effort of trying to stop it, weary from all those minds' accusing screams as they tore through his body. He felt what little strength he'd had to resist the entechment with before had been leached out of him and he was totally bare to the Force, unable to have even the slightest control on it.   
  
And again his mind reached out to the frantic dogfights beyond the hull.  
  
Again, his barriers flashed up, but they crumbled quicker than before.  
  
_Luke?  
  
_He gasped. What?!  
  
_Luke, its Corran. Can you hear me?  
  
_No! Luke's mind recoiled, pulling away from the touch of Corran's mind whilst trying to passively search for a reason he was out there.  
  
_Luke, are you okay?  
  
_Luke shied from him. And as he did his mind brushed another familiar presence. Wedge? Oh, no, was it Rogue Squadron? What were _they_ doing here?   
  
What to do? He had no idea.  
  
  
---  
  
  
"Wedge?" Corran's voice came over his comm.  
  
Wedge took a moment out from chasing the battle droids to answer him "I hear you. What?" He asked.  
  
"Luke's here." He answered.  
  
"What?? How do you know- never mind... where?" He asked as he turned another of the droids turned to expensive scrap.  
  
"On that big cruiser. There's something wrong. He's avoiding me. And all these ships we've seen that are just drifting -I don't like it. I have a very bad feeling-"  
  
"Don't even say it." Wedge warned him.  
  
"What was it you were saying earlier about Bakura?" Corran asked him.  
  
And then, suddenly, Wedge understood what was happening. The last piece if the puzzle fell into place showing him the whole picture at last.  
  
"Wedge?"  
  
"The ssi-ruuk power their droids and ships using human energies."  
  
"I'd heard that." Corran said, "Wasn't one of Luke's students studying how they did it?"  
  
"I don't know. Maybe. Somehow they're able to harness the energy away from the body." He paused to fire a glancing shot at one of the droids. Missed. They were too damn fast. "They had this idea, they could use Luke's Jedi powers to entech- that's what they call it- entech humans from a distance, without having to capture them and bring them onboard their ships. It would be a lot more efficient. Luke escaped: the plan hadn't really been thought-out properly: it was a bit of a rush job. Luke took over the ship. Apparently they all evacuated. They were scared to hell Luke would kill them all; something about dying away from consecrated ground."   
  
He heard Corran's laugh. "Yeah, sounds like something that would happen to Luke... so what, you think they've found a way to keep him?"  
  
"I hope not, if they have we could be in for a lot more trouble than just this." He thought back to those empty ships... but, no, Luke would be able to resist anything they did... wouldn't he?  
  
"Anyway, he'd never willingly entech people. " Wedge said out loud  
  
Corran's voice took on a strange, distant tone "Wedge, I don't think he has a choice."  
  
  
---  
  
  
The strain of avoiding Rogue Squadron when his mind was deliberately targeting them was beginning to really hurt. He squeezed his eyes shut.  
  
What to do? What _could_ he do?  
  
He only had one chance; in a moment, he knew, he wouldn't be able to stop his mind reaching out and snatching them.  
  
_Corran?_ he called into the Force, hoping the contact wouldn't immediately demand that his mind grab onto Corran's; hoping Corran's Jedi training would help him stop Luke...  
  
_Luke? You have to resist-  
  
I can't!!_ He let Corran feel his desperation as his barriers began to fall, G_et out of here. Now! I cant stop it._ He could barely resist it now, could hear himself screaming with the pain, but he ignored it.  
  
_Move_ Luke shouted to Corran as the Force flowed over him and past his defences.  
  
_No, Luke I'm with you._   
  
He felt Corran's presence stretch out to Luke and strengthen his resistance. For a moment, a single hopeful moment he thought it was going to work, but even as he gained control again, it's grasp slipped through his fingers and he- no, not him, the implant, he reminded himself- reached out again to smoother Corran's sense.  
  
_Luke_ he heard Corran's gasp as Luke's mind took hold.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Wedge watched Corran's' ship flying in front of him, his words sinking in. _I don't think he has a choice._ He looked at the big cruiser, there was no way they would be able to get on board it without being noticed, and they were losing this battle fast. They really didn't have any choice but to go back and get help. He wondered how Leia would take it-  
  
Suddenly, Corran's x-wing veered off towards the bottom hull, starting to fly erratically. It took Wedge a moment to register what was happening "Corran!" he shouted into the comm, flying after Corran's ship and defending it against the droids. "Corran! Pull up!" There was no reply.   
  
"Wedge." Corran's voice came over the comm "I can't-"  
  
"Hang on, I'm giving you the hyperspace co-ordinates, jump and we'll follow you." Working as fast as he could whilst flying after the x-wing, he punched the co-ordinates into his computer and sent them.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Corran's sense fought back against Luke's pull.  
  
_Luke!_   
  
_I'm trying, I'm trying!_ He sent back, feeling despair fill him again as he ran through his routine of tricks that never worked.  
  
Corran's sense seemed to change, and then hesitate.  
  
_Corran, if you've got an idea, try it._ He sent, fighting to stop his sense from pulling Corran away from his body.  
  
Corran seemed to hesitate for a moment, but only a moment, and then Luke felt it. Corran sent the Force rushing back into Luke's head, directed at the implant, he gasped at the sudden tidal wave of energy that flowed through his mind; felt his mind screaming as Corran blasted it, but, curiously, he didn't scream outloud. It was working, he realised with a thrill, the Force touch on Corran's mind slipped and flailed as the implant directed the Force against Corran's attack, but Corran was as weak as Luke. Distantly, Luke could feel him weakening .   
  
_Jump now!_ He shouted to his friend. Maybe he shouted it outloud too: it didn't matter: Corran heard him, and tried to break free of Luke's lingering touch, Corran punched in the co-ordinates into his nav computer and put his hands on the hyper space levers.   
  
Luke tried to pull free, not wanting to think about what would happen if he were still connected to Corran when he jumped. At the last moment before the ship flicked out of real space, he sent a fleeting message of thanks, and Corran was gone.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Wedge saw the x-wing drive back and away from the cruiser before it hit the hull, blasting up and past the attacking droids, and with a flicker of puersuado-motion it   
  
was gone. Wedge almost cheered, then realised he should really be getting out of there too.   
  
"Rogues, jump _now_."   
  
He found a clear patch of space and sent his ship into hyperspace, heaving a sigh of relief as the mottled backdrop reappeared.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Corran felt Luke's' rush to try and break free of his mind, for an awful moment he thought he wouldn't make it before his ship jumped, Luke's last thought to him was a weary thank you, an idea entered into Corran's head, and as a last minute help to Luke, he channelled healing energy through the Force to him before he jumped.  
  
Thank you for what? Corran thought bitterly as he tried to regain his own touch on reality. Sinking into a healing trance his last thought was to wonder how the hell they were going to explain this at Coruscant.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Swh'hr'ring was frantic, for a few minutes there something had been wrong. They had told Skywalker to target the New Republic ships, but he had resisted. He had _resisted._It wasn't possible, and yet there it was. And Fr'h'tokh was _not_ happy about it, but for the moment he hung back.   
  
Swh'hr'ring worked the controls, trying to see what had gone wrong. Skywalker had been screaming out in pain, but he resisted the entechment. That was most decidedly _not_ in the procedure. At last Swh'hr'ring thought he'd found the problem: some of the implants circuits were.... wrong. He couldn't explain it; it was like they'd rewritten themselves he frowned.  
  
"Sedate him." Fr'h'tokh said from beside him.  
  
"Elder I'm not sure that's wise, I don't know what it would do to him." he answered truthfully   
  
"Sedate him until you know what went wrong." his voice was stern, and this time left no room for argument, he looked across at Skywalker's still form, hoping he wouldn't regret this he crossed the room to fetch the sedative.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Luke lay, feeling disorientated.   
  
Before Corran had jumped Luke had felt the Force flow back through him and through his head, he had felt something happening in side his head, his mind screamed out into the force as he struggled to get away from the blast. Feeling his control return, he channelled his own energy. The already damaged circuits of the implant shorted and died. His mind screamed louder as the implants failure scorched his brain. Amongst the turmoil in the Force he was creating, he felt a flicker of recognition.   
  
_Leia?  
  
_And then, Luke had control of the Force again, at least in part, he could still sense the implant trying to pull back out to the battlefield, but with effort, Luke could resist it. Through the Force, he watched the big blue alien whistle something harshly at the other alien, and with a look towards Luke he headed to the corner of the room. This was his chance Luke knew, for a single minute the alien wasn't near the control panel where he could alter the implant.  
  
Quickly, Luke reached out with the Force and into the blue aliens mind, it honked momentarily in surprise and confusion before Luke sent it into unconsciousness: restricting blood vessels in the brain so it wouldn't wake up anytime soon.  
  
But he didn't kill it. There had been far too much death today already.  
  
With a loud thud the alien collapsed to the floor. The smaller p'w'ecks jumped up in surprise. They were unconscious before they had a chance to fire. The brown ssi-ruuk stopped mid stride and turned to face Luke, fear evident on its face. Luke grabbed its mind, the feeling bringing up the memory of entechment. When he had control of it he spoke,  
  
"Walk over to the side of the table." he commanded it. Obediently, the ssi-ruuk walked over to Luke's side. "Undo these straps." he said, indicating the restraints.   
  
The ssi-ruuk seemed to hesitate, an unreadable emotion spread across its face, but it obeyed. Flicking switches and entering passwords to open the straps. The metal seemed to separate achingly slow, until at last he was free. He flexed his fingers, muscles he hadn't used in days protesting loudly to their sudden movement  
  
"Which way to the docking bay?" Luke asked, a plan already forming in his mind. The alien pointed to the left. "Thank you." Luke murmured as he sent it to join its master in unconsciousness.   
  
Slowly and carefully he eased up from the table, ignoring as best he could his aching muscles. He swung his legs over the table and for the first time got a look at the machinery that had been behind his head. He whistled softly at the circuitry that arched back and into the wall. But there wasn't time for this. Walking over to the p'w'ecks he checked they were out and picked up one of the paddle beamers, taking a moment to study it. It had been a long time since he'd seen one of these. The comm beeped, a string of the ssi-ruuk's high pitched speech came from the speakers. With horror, Luke saw the droid move to answer the call, shouting back in ssi-ruuvi. Luke brought the paddle beamer up and swept it across the droid, hoping it would work on it. He couldn't help but get a little satisfaction in seeing the droid falter and collapse after the long days it had stood just out of view telling him who would be the next to die. It wasn't its fault, but that didn't mean Luke had to like the thing.   
  
Knowing they'd be on to his escape now, he turned and forced his legs to run.  
  
  
---  
  
  
"Admiral? Incoming message the battle fleet at Sele4." a young officer called from his post.  
  
"Lets hear it" Admiral Sh'rtokh replied, picking up the datapad from where it lay on a console. It was about time they reported in.  
  
Instead of Elder Fr'h'tokh appearing on screen, his panicking young captain appeared. He flicked his tongue out nervously.  
  
"Report." the Admiral ordered him.  
  
"Admiral." he bowed "The battle goes well, we have defeated the armada from Sele4." the Admiral smirked at the use of the work 'armada'  
  
"But?" he prompted.  
  
The captain hesitated a moment. "We think Skywalker is loose on the ship." he blurted out.   
  
Ah. So that was why he was so nervous.  
  
"_Do not_ evacuate captain. Track him down. I don't care how you get him back, but he must _not_ be allowed of the ship. Is that understood?"   
  
"Aye, sir," the captain answered, looking sheepish "but Admiral..."  
  
"No but's,_ Captain_" he emphasised the word "I will _not_ have you loose Skywalker. I hold _you_ personally responsible for what happens next. I suggest you stop panicking and start looking for him."  
  
He cut of the transmission. In anger, he threw the datapad across the bridge, sending it crashing into a bulkhead. The bridge went deadly quiet.   
  
A heartbeat.   
  
"Set course for Sele4." he told the navigator "It seems we have some problems to clear up...."

  
Chapter Three: thank the Force for small miracles... 

  
Luke ran.   
  
He must be getting close to the docking bay by now. So far, no one had attacked him. He had to wonder at that. Last time they had evacuated the ship when he'd escaped. He doubted his luck would hold out that far today. Sure enough, he rounded a corner and ran straight into a pack of very nervous p'w'ecks. Careless: he should have sensed them long ago. Skidding to a stop he dived back around the corner, hugging the wall as several blasts hit close by.  
  
They were set on a low energy level. Reaching out to the Force, he tried to knock them unconscious as he had in the medical bay, but he didn't have surprise on his side and he couldn't knock them out.   
  
Well, fine, he'd fight them then. Their firing stopped, and Luke could sense them creep slowly forward. He dived across the corridor, letting the Force guide his aim. Three of the p'w'ecks honked in shock as the paddle beamer's fire hit them. The fourth kept on firing and, luckily for Luke, it's aim was terrible. As Luke crashed into the far wall and bounced back, his beam stroked across its chest and it fell to the deck. Getting up off the floor he leaped over them and continued down the corridor  
  
  
---  
  
  
Leia screamed.  
  
She felt the Force rushing through her, but she hadn't tried to connect to it. Her mind was on fire, a burning sensation running over the back of her head, she put a hand up to clutch at her head, strangling her scream.  
  
And then she realised what was happening: she could feel him, he was a long way off but his presence was unmistakable.  
  
Luke.  
  
As quickly as it started, the pain stopped, leaving a blinding headache behind. She sat bolt upright in bed, her sheets falling to the floor in a heap. Rubbing her eyes she tried to clear her mind and get back the connection.  
  
_Luke_ she cried out _Luke?_   
  
No answer.   
  
As clearly as she had felt his sense cry out, it was suddenly silent. Gathering the sheets in her hand she hugged them to her, bringing her knees up to her chest and pushing back sympathetic tears of pain and a flood of tears of joy. He was alive. He hurt, but he was alive. She wanted to jump up and dance around the room screaming her head off in joy 'he's alive he's alive he's alive!!!! We were right!' but she held back the urge, instead hugging herself and remembering the long-lost touch of his mind on hers.  
  
"Leia?" Han's voice sounding disorientated by sleep and muffled by the pillow. She turned to look into his face.  
  
Tears of joy she couldn't hold in rolling down her cheeks. She tried to say "He's alive." but her throat choked on the words. Seeing her crying, Han sat up and stared intently at her.  
  
"Hey, Leia, what's wrong-"  
  
"Nothing." she said, a smile spreading across her tired face "Nothing at all." she grinned, letting her emotions wash over her. At Han's confused look she let go of the sheets she'd been clutching and hugged him tightly, whispering into his ear with a slightly croaky voice "He's alive."   
  
She held on to him as he realised what she had just said. She could feel his emotions change, shock giving way to wonder and finally falling into overwhelming happiness. He held her away from him and looked into her face. Her own joy was mirrored on his features.  
  
"How?" he asked simply.  
  
"I felt him Han, he was there, out of nowhere I felt his presence." she fell back into his arms laughing "He's not dead." her laugh turned back into sobs of happiness, and he held there for what seemed a long time until she pulled away from him.  
  
Han hadn't heard her laugh like that- truly laugh out of happiness, hadn't seen her face light up or her eyes sparkle like that in too long. And her happiness was infectious.  
  
"Thank you." she said bringing the sheets up and around her again.  
  
Han looked at her, feeling a little confused "For what?"  
  
She took his hand and when she spoke her voice was laced with an earnestness Han was used to hearing from her brother. "For not giving up. For believing in him for... for being there for me." It was Han's turn to grin widely.  
  
"Hun, they'll never be time I wont be there for you, I promise." he hugged her again.  
  
She looked so pale and fragile sitting there, her face a picture of relief, visibly he could see that a huge weight was suddenly gone and she could sit up straight again. For now, she didn't want to think about why she had felt the contact, or why there had been that sudden pain.  
  
All that mattered for now was that he was alive.  
  
Her twin, her brother, was alive. The tears started again.  
  
  
---  
  
  
  
"Sir, the first team has failed." An officer reported.   
  
The captain scowled. "Turn on the stun traps," he said "But turn the power down; we don't want to kill him." he added, remembering the Admirals words earlier.  
  
"Aye sir."  
  
  
---  
  
  
Luke felt it as the tortured energy above head suddenly got stronger. Remembering Bakura, he tore of a piece of his sleeve and slid it forward on the floor with the Force, it fizzled and burnt as it hit a hidden energy barrier.   
  
Luke sighed. He could see the docking bay door too. From behind him, he heard the approach of running feet. Ducking in time and throwing himself to the floor, he fired blind while his eyes caught up with his sudden movement. A group of at least 10 p'w'ecks came running towards him.  
  
_oh, no.  
  
  
---  
  
  
_Leia suddenly shivered in his arms. Letting go of her with one hand, he reached over to pull the sheets closer around them, but when he saw her expression he froze. Her face, a few moments ago filled with indescribable joy, was drawn and tight, her eyes were dull.  
  
"Leia?" she didn't respond. Worried, he shook her gently. "Leia. Snap out of it. "   
  
With a shiver that ran down her body she blinked and was back. She looked away thoughtfully, and when she looked back up there was a pleading, pain filled glaze on her eyes. "Leia?" he asked softly.  
  
_Oh please, no, don't say something's happened to him.  
  
_"He... I..." she choked. He held her to him.  
  
"Go on." he said,   
  
"I saw images, people screaming, and accusing voices, and Wedge and Corran. And death. So much death..." she trailed off, staring past his shoulder into space he had to ask...  
  
"And Luke...?"   
  
She turned to look into his eyes "I don't know, I felt a jolt of fear... I... I don't know." she shook her head helplessly.  
Leia hugged him, wishing she could have held on to her joy just a moment longer. "I don't know what's happening to him. He was ... scared."  
  
"Scared. But alive" Han reminded her. He could almost feel her feelings lift at that.  
  
"We have to help him." she said, suddenly twisting herself out his grip and moving towards the wardrobe.   
  
_How? We've no idea where he is let alone what's happening to him,_ he thought, but bit back any words he might have said, "Leia..."  
  
She resolutely ignored him. Had she read his mind?  
  
"Leia, do you know where he is?" she was pulling on an old pair of trousers. Her figure was a dark shadow in the low lighting of their bedroom. She was shaking, he realised. "No. I've got to go to him. The first contact... he was in pain. It hurt, Han, Like a burning fire in my mind. I can't explain it. I have to go to him." All the time she concentrated on getting dressed, not letting him see her face, scared that if she looked up she would see her own fears on his face.  
  
Han sighed, why did things always have to get complicated? Why couldn't they have just enjoyed her relief that he was alive?  
  
"Okay, but wait till morning. There's nothing you can do now."   
  
She paused in pulling on an old shirt, but then continued, flicking long brown hair out from the back of it. "I have to go now."   
  
She felt his hand on her shoulder. "Wait till Wedge gets back at least, we'll have more to go on, anything we do now will just be a waste. And besides: you look like you need to sleep."   
  
She had been starting to warm to the idea, but at that last sentence she flung him back from her, her anger flaring.  
  
"Sleep?! _Sleep_!!! Sleep was what stopped me from helping him the first time. Sleep was what got him in this situation. If I hadn't been _sleeping_ we'd have found him and everything would have been all right!"  
  
Her tears flowed uncontrollably now. He'd thought she had got over her guilt. He must have been wrong. His wife was very good at hiding things from him when she wanted to. He moved to hold her, letting his voice get sterner.  
  
"Leia, that wasn't you fault. You know that. Don't blame yourself for something you didn't do."  
  
She accepted his embrace, but her guilt stayed with her. She allowed him to hold her to him and for the second time in the past 2 months, poured out her grief on him. And again he took it, holding her up against the pain and sorrow.  
  
"Leia, this is different. He's alive." he whispered in her ear. She nodded and pulled away from him, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. "Come on, sleep on it, well send the whole damn navy after him tomorrow if we have to. But sleep now."  
  
She looked at him absently "I guess your right. I just... I hate feeling so helpless."  
  
An idea struck Han "Can you contact him again?" he asked.  
  
"No, I... I don't think so"  
  
"Try." he urged her "Maybe all he needs is to feel someone is there watching over him. It's probably the best help you'll be able to give him." he added, hoping she would listen to him.  
  
"I always listen to you Han, I just don't always agree." she joked "but, yes, I'll try."  
  
Sitting on the edge of her bed, she closed her eyes and concentrated.  
  
  
---  
  
  
  
Luke fired at the running P'w'ecks, two fell, 8 kept on coming. He turned his mind to the tortured energy above him powering the stun trap. He could feel its weariness and sadness. The energy was beyond wanting death or despair, it just existed now. There would be no cajoling it into opening the trap.   
  
Luke turned back to face the p'w'ecks. He couldn't allow himself to be stunned. He had escaped once only with Corran's help, he doubted he would be able to do it alone. One of the p'w'ecks fired, Luke moved fast to get out of the way of its beam, using the Force to leap high above it, but he couldn't move fast enough to get out the way of the second beam that sweeped out from his left. He felt it brush his leg and he landed back hard on the deck, the wind knocked out him.   
  
He tried to stand on it, but his foot gave way. A few seconds more and they would have him.   
  
_Damn it just open,_ he thought towards the trap.  
  
The stun trap disappeared.   
  
Amazed but not about to give up this opportunity he dived through it.   
  
_Close_ he shouted through the Force as the p'w'ecks raced forwarded. Five p'w'ecks couldn't stop and ran headlong into the trap, there was a loud crack and the smell of ozone, and 5 aliens lay stunned on the deck. The other 3, distracted by their friends sudden collapse, Luke took out with the paddle beamer. All 10 now lay on the deck.   
  
Luke stared up at the trap. What had happened?? He didn't have time to think about that now. Using the wall to lever himself upright, he leaned heavily on his right foot and jogged to the end of the corridor.   
  
  
---  
  
  
The door to the docking bay required a password. Luke stared at the keypad, unable to tell which of the strange symbols he needed to press. He could sense which had been used the most, but had no idea what order they went in, and he wasn't willing to try a random combination in case it was boobie-trapped. A wave of dizziness washed over him. He pressed his head against the wall, getting his breath back. It was probably the after effects of the paddle beamer. He looked down at his numb leg.   
  
This was _just_ what he _didn't_ need.   
  
He felt despair rising in him again, but he had the strange feeling it wasn't his own, he reached out trying see who it had come from, but he couldn't find anyone. He sighed. Was he going mad now too? It would just be his luck....  
  
Remembering the stun trap Luke played his last card. Concentrating on the control panel he channelled the Force through his mind.  
  
_Open_ he thought at it, adding a silent _please_ on the end.   
  
Obediently the door swooshed open. What had he done? He traced back what had happened after his command; he had felt the Force flowing through his mind, through his awareness, touching the damaged implant- the implant? It had sent out a pulse of energy from his mind. He frowned. Well _that _certainly didn't make sense. But... 'be glad of small miracles' as his aunt used to say, he jogged into the docking bay; on impulse commanding the door to shut.  
  
  
---  
  
  
The docking bay was large, but not overly so. It was grey and poorly lit, with a huge gaping mouth at its far end leading out into space. In the distance he could see the last death throws of the earlier battle as the starscape lit up with turbo laser fire. Moving carefully forward, he took the time to stretch out to the Force, listening to see if anyone was in the bay.   
  
But it was quiet. Spookily quiet, and he was definitely alone. He turned to concentrate on the ships. He had dreaded that there might be no ships on board other than the battle droids. But, no, there was a small group of one-man fighters that looked like they had been designed for a smaller race then humans- p'w'ecks?- that would be a tight squeeze but he would fit it in somehow-  
  
  
Halfway across the bay Luke stopped suddenly mid-step. A warm sensation ran through his mind that felt vaguely familiar. Leia?  
  
_Leia?_ He called.  
  
_Luke_ her happiness and concern washed over him in equal amounts as he continued to jog towards one of the fighters. _I'm fine Leia,_ he lied as he approached one of the ships and began studying it.  
  
_Luke... I've missed you_ he smiled, feeling the warmth of his sister's emotion towards him.   
  
_I've missed you too Leia. More than you'll ever know.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Leia Organa Solo smiled where she sat on the bed.  
  
  
---  
  
  
_Luke rounded the ship, still trying to figure out just exactly how he was going to get in it, when he heard a faint but disconcerting sound.  
  
_What?_ Leia's concern was there again. He let her feel his confusion. Dropping into a combat ready stance, he stretched out to the Force. And suddenly there was a very real need for speed, and he knew why the bay was empty.  
  
They were pumping the air out of the bay. They probably didn't mean to kill him, just to let him black out, but Luke had no intention of being caught.  
  
Pushing down his panic, he used the Force to leap onto the top of one of the fighters, still looking for a way in.  
  
The air was already getting thin in here; the system was fast, but, then, this was a docking bay. He had to find a way to open the cockpit. When he couldn't get it to open on its own, in desperation he tried to pull it open, but it wouldn't budge, and he was beginning to feel sluggish. He ran through every last-minute technique he could think of to keep his blood cells moving but he was slowly blacking out  
  
_Luke_ Leia's sense called to him. He sent her a picture of where he was, hoping she might have an idea. He was starting to see black spots in front of his eyes. Holding on to the craft as the room began to spin, he racked his brain for a way out   
  
_Luke, what's that on your arm?  
  
_Huh?  
  
The small grey implant on his arm was blinking faster and faster as Luke ran out of air. Of course! He hit the small button on its side, hoping it would work fast enough. He couldn't feel the thing injecting into his arm, but he knew that it was pumping it's drugs into his blood. He lost his balance on the ship and fell to the ground, landing on his back.   
  
_Luke!_ Leia's worried sense broke through his haze of drug-induced confusion.   
  
At last, after an achingly long time, he could feel his senses come back as his body began to work again. But the haze didn't leave him, brought on as it was by the drugs being injected by the small grey box on his arm. Picking himself up of the deck, ignoring the wave of dizziness the sudden movement caused, he ran to the next fighter leaping up on top of it and trying to tease the cockpit open. In frustration he kicked it. Amazingly, it swung open.  
  
Luke would have laughed if he hadn't been in such danger. _Han's tricks really are the best_, he thought.   
  
Luke felt Leia's presence drifting away from him. Dropping heavily into the cockpit, he pulled the restraints across him, shortening them as far as they would go but realising they were still far too big, He pulled the cockpit top down, glad that it was tall enough, even if there was only a couple of centimetres above his head.  
  
Thank the Force he wasn't tall.  
  
_Leia_ her mind was just an echo now. He guessed it was due to the drugs. Giving himself just a moment to study the controls, he silently thanked the Alliance for versing him in so many different ships, before he hit the ignition of the small ship and the repulsors lifted it off the deck.  
  
  
---  
  
  
  
"Get into that docking bay" Fr'h'tokh glared down at his naieve captain. "We... have tried to, sir, but the door won't open." He cowered before him.  
  
Fr'h'tokh honked in disgust. " _Cut_ it open then. He must not escape!" he shouted.  
  
"He'll be unconscious, sir -we could wait and-"  
  
"Don't underestimate him. Shut the docking bay space-side door." Fr'h'tokh warned, turning an icy glare back on the captain. "Speed is of the essence." When he didn't get the hint Fr'h'tokh put a dangerous edge to his voice "_Move_!"  
  
  
---  
  
  
  
The small ship was harder to control than it had looked, the strange symbols on the controls not helping Luke. Managing to manoeuvre between the other ships, Luke tried to find the throttle on the thing amongst all the strange buttons, at last he found it, and looking up, froze for a moment in fear. The bay door was slowly closing.  
Regaining his composure, his hands flew across the board pushing the ship to give as much speed as it could manage.   
  
He was slammed back into his seat as the ship sprang forward. Luke held his breath, flying the ship on instinct and so close to the deck he could nearly scraped it twice as he fought to control the erratic flight. As the little fighter headed toward the rapidly narrowing gap, Luke was pressed into the back of the cockpit by the force of his flight. It was going to be tight. With the bitter taste of inevitability, he braced himself for a collision-  
  
And abruptly, with a grating screech of metal on metal, the ship shot out of into the deep black of space.  
  
He had it round and gunning for the yellow planet that filled his cockpit in a moment, flicking controls randomly, searching for weaponry...  
  
A blast shot out for the front of the ship. He'd found them.  
  
  
---  
  
  
"A ship just launched from the bay!" one of the techs shouted at Fr'h'tokh from his side. Fr'h'tokh fumed. He had told the Captain to be quick and the inept rookie had failed him. _Again_.  
  
"Captain!" he called to the small ssi-ruuk bending over a tactical display. Nervously, the captain walked over.  
  
"Sir, we had some problems getting into the docking bay I-" he faltered. Fr'h'tokh glared at him. "You have failed me, Captain, in one of the most important times for our military, you have put this whole invasion in jeopardy."  
  
"I- I'm sorry." he stammered.   
  
"_Sorry_?! I'm afraid that wont do Captain. _Get off my bridge._" For a moment, the Elder thought his captain was going to object. Fr'h'tokh took the paddle beamer of his belt and pointed at the ssi-ruuk's' chest "Now..." he said, a deadly knife edge to his voice.  
  
The captain bowed low "As you wish." With a last look around his bridge he scurried off. Fr'h'tokh returned the weapon to his belt and directed his gaze to the rest of the bridge crew "Get all available ships after that fighter.  
  
"Don't shoot to kill, tell them to aim to damage the ship, heard it towards our tractor beams. Don't fail me again." He added as the crew hurried to carry out his orders.   
  
Skywalker would _not_ escape him.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Lines of fire lanced out at Luke's ship as a swarm of the small black droids flew in from Luke's right. Reaching to the Force, he stroked the fire button and poured energy into the woefully strong shields, had the minor satisfaction of seeing one shatter and explode before sending the fighter into a stomach churning loop to his left and down, he held his breath as he approached the huge cruisers hull. Luke decided he didn't like the battle getting this close to the big ship; they probably had tractor beams, which his little ship would never be able to break free of.  
And he didn't doubt they were deliberately forcing the battle towards the ship for that purpose, and the yellow planet- his only chance of escaping seeing as the little ship didn't have a hyperdrive- was getting further and further away.  
  
At the last moment he pulled up and away from the hull, climbing back into space.  
  
Another group of droids came up from underneath him.  
  
_Damn it_.  
  
For the first time, he was glad they weren't shooting to kill: even with the Force, he would have been long dead against this many ships.   
  
Another beam of energy splashed next to his cockpit. Luke could almost imagine he felt the heat of the blast. They were getting closer.  
  
He sent his fighter straight for them, hoping his hunch that they were not ready to kill him was right. Or maybe it wasn't, they weren't moving out of the way very fast-  
  
At the last second, the droids scattered, Luke weaved the little ship through them, hearing it groan from the manoeuvres he was asking from it. As he made it through the cloud of fighters, he realised he was headed directly for the planet. He grinned. At least he wasn't having all-bad luck today.   
  
A sudden wave of dizziness spread over him. He shivered. The small grey box must still be pumping drugs into his system, he realised. And Luke didn't have the time to figure out how to shut it off.  
  
The droids he'd just got rid of had banked around and were following him fast, spraying a hail of deadly energy behind him. Luke flew the little craft evasively, flicking in and out of the battle debree that still cluttered the area, hoping his shields would hold if he flew into anything too big. He had the ship up to its full speed, but the droids were closing fast: he remembered from Bakura that they were a lot faster than many of the other ships he had encountered.   
  
In the distance he could see another wave heading towards him, trying to sandwich him in.  
  
_Where were they getting all those ships from_- ah. He shouldn't have asked that.  
  
The other wave was firing at him now, and even with the Force as his ally, the fighter bucked under the onslaught. Luke was asking too much of the little ship, ominous groans sounded from its engine, absently he glanced down at the panel to see what was wrong- and with that one moment's lack of concentration, one of the droids beams hit.   
The ship was kicked out of control, spinning around wildly, only adding to Luke's dizziness. The force of the jolt on the ship threw Luke into the side of the cockpit, knocking his head into the wall. Pulling himself back into the seat he fought with the controls but the stabilisers were obviously shot, and it continued on its mad, erratic course. He felt a trickle of warm blood running down the side of his face.   
  
More droids came in firing, targeting his weapons, he realised. They still weren't trying to kill him. Luke tried to persuade the little ship to avoid them, but the beams hit on target and with a blinding flash Luke guns were gone  
  
_Oh, no...  
  
_They were swooping round and coming in for another pass, and Luke didn't have either control of the ship or weapons. He swallowed hard... maybe there was still something he could do. It had worked on board the ship; maybe it would work on the droids too.  
  
Forcing himself to relax and ignore the throbbing of his head, he stretched out with the Force towards the droids.  
  
Like with the stun trap, he sent them single, simple command:  
  
_Cease-fire.  
  
_They kept on coming, weapons blinking-  
  
And then, abruptly, one half the droids stopped shooting and shot past his craft.  
  
_All right!_ Now what? There were still at least fifteen droids out there firing at him. He had to think fast...Instead of words this time Luke sent the droids a mental image; one of the droids exploding hoping it would have the same effect. He bit his lip, hoping his Force-picture would work. The firing droids got closer, their shots getting nearer even though his ship was spinning dizzily out of control-  
  
And then, out of nowhere, the droids that had swept past Luke reappeared, travelling at a terrifying speed, they aimed directly for the other droids.  
  
In a series of sudden, violent explosions they collided. Luke gasped as the space around his fighter erupted in fire, the heat close enough to fry some more of circuits the droids weapons hadn't already taken out. What little oxygen there had been in the ships fuelled the fire as the explosion blossomed outwards. Luke threw his hand up to shield his eyes and looked away. Then, the oxygen burned, the fires raced back inwards and fizzled out as the fighter shot out of the fireball.  
  
Luke opened his eyes and turned to stare back at the destruction behind him.  
  
"Wow," he mouthed, watching the burning embers. He couldn't begin to guess why it worked but he knew that somehow he was able to control circuits that used entechment energy. Thanking the Force for small favours, he turned back to his fried circuit board searching for a way to fix it. He felt something ominous touch his sense and looked up from his work.   
  
The small yellow planet filled his vision, now immeasurably huge and with sandstorms raging across its surface. With a start Luke realised the fighter was ditching down towards the planet, dragged by the inescapable force of gravity it plunged downwards and into the raging atmosphere.

_**  
Chapter Four : Back Down To Earth**_

Leia felt Luke's sense begin to pull away from her as he dropped into the fighters cockpit. She frowned,   
  
_Luke?_ There was no reply. She could still feel his presence in the Force, but his own grip on her mind seemed to be failing   
  
_Luke?_ She tried again, but he didn't hear her. She didn't break the contact though, instead she stayed with him, with the faint hope he could still sense her but also she didn't want to pull away form her brother's sense again when she'd only just found him, it was very comforting to know that he was still alive and fighting back. She smiled.  
  
What else had she really expected from Luke?  
  
Hoping he wouldn't have called it an invasion of his privacy, she tried to find out where he'd been all this time. Digging deep into his memories she shivered, there was something dark there, she knew, something he was mentally avoiding as he fought to get free of the ship. It was wrapped up tight in a box, sealed with a loud mental command shouting _do not open!!!_ And she couldn't open it.  
  
She could feel his concentration as he flew the little craft for all it was worth, and his quiet dread at the thought of being recaptured, memories surfacing.   
  
And suddenly, the lid of the box flew open. For a few seconds she got a glimpse of the inside. She heard shouting, accusing voices, people screaming, images of a small brown alien writhing in agony, the memory of the touch of cold metal against skin, the dread at the touch of a friend's mind-  
  
The box lid snapped shut, the seal tighter than ever. She gasped at what she had just seen. What had happened to him?  
  
  
---  
  
  
"Sir, The droids have... they..." the young tech officer struggled to describe it.  
  
"I saw what happened to them." Fr'h'tokh interrupted, honking softly to himself. How had Skywalker done that? He would have to ask Swh'hr'ring about it, but obviously, the Jedi had found some way of controlling their battle droids, and that could be dangerous if Skywalker made it back to New Republic space, which meant it was more important than ever that they recapture him and make sure he did not escape again. From the fighter's last trajectory, it looked like it was heading- somewhat erratically- for Sele4.   
  
The fighter would probably be capable of re-entry as long as it hadn't been too damaged in the fire-fight, and after he landed would be their best time to recapture the Jedi. "L'ar'tok, prepare a landing party- "  
  
"Sir!" his comm officer shouted excitedly. "Sir! Incoming message from the Admiral." He gestured to the datapad he held out to his Elder.  
  
The Admiral? He most certainly knew of Skywalker's escape...he hoped there wouldn't be too higher price to pay for their mistakes. He took the datapad from the anxious young ssi-ruuk and headed into the captains' ready room to take the conversation.  
  
"Sir." he said as the door shut behind him "It is an honour to hear from you." he greeted the Admiral formerly.  
Admiral Sh'rtokh scowled at him. "Have you recaptured Skywalker yet?" he asked, not waiting on formalities.  
  
"Ah... no, sir. My captain proved quiet... inadequate at the task. Skywalker's ship is at this moment heading down to the planet. We will recapture him when he reaches the surface."  
  
He hoped it would be good enough...  
  
"No," the Admiral said. Fr'h'tokh flicked his tongue out nervously "My ship will be with you in a few hours time. This must be done properly. Give Skywalker a few days of freedom- we have destroyed all their hyperspace-capable ships and we are successfully blocking all calls; he isn't going anywhere. When I arrive we will collect him from the surface. Your technician- Swh'hr'ring- I'm sure will need time to fix whatever error allowed Skywalker to escape the first time. Do not be overly concerned with his escape, though it will delay us a while, a few... _teething problems _were to be expected. Expect my arrival in approximately 20 hours." the Admiral was about to sign of when he must have caught something in Fr'h'tokh's expression.  
  
"You disapprove?" he asked. Fr'h'tokh knew better than to go against the Admiral's orders, but still..."No, Sir, I just wonder if we are giving Skywalker too much time to rest before we recapture him." he said, tying to sound subordinate enough to appease his Admiral   
  
"I think perhaps that will not be so, I doubt he will have escaped your ship unscathed and any healing that Skywalker does can only be to our benefit -we know little about medicine for the human anatomy. Jedi are renowned for their ability to self-heal. Maybe he will do the job for us."  
  
Ah, Fr'h'tokh decided that did may sense, in a way, but he wasn't happy about it. Still he wouldn't push the matter.  
  
"I understand sir." he said simply.  
  
When the Admiral signed off, he tossed the pad onto the small table in the room. It was annoying that the admiral had stopped him going after Skywalker immediately, but there was nothing to be done about it now. Striding out of the room, he decided he was going to have some stern words with Swh'hr'ring.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Leia felt a hot jolt of fear run through her. She searched Luke's emotions and found the reason for it- he was about to crash.  
  
  
---  
  
  
  
The little ship twisted and writhed as it plunged down through the atmosphere, a flaming shell engulfing the ship as it shed speed. Luke could feel the sweat pouring off him under the intense heat inside the cockpit. He fought to concentrate on the panel in front of him he was desperately trying to fix but his eyes kept on glancing out of the cockpit and past the burning halo to see the planet's surface bearing down on him, blindingly bright but with a queer radiant beauty of the suns' reflected light.   
  
The control panel he was working on sparked suddenly, electricity racing across its surface. Small bits of melted plastic burned into his skin, he grasped the joystick pulling it back and, amazingly, he had control again.  
  
As he fought to bring the ship out of its dizzying spin, it bucked under him._   
  
Blast it_ he thought. The ship lurched as it hit a patch of turbulence rattling the ship violently around throwing Luke away from the controls. He climbed forward grabbing the yoke again, trying to hold it steady as the ship began to spin uncontrollably. He hoped the repulsors still had enough life left in them that he'd be able to land the craft instead of it making a nasty blotch on the dazzlingly white surface. Gaping canyons, sheer sided cliffs and huge mountainous sand dunes reached up to greet him as the ship continued its plummet through the atmosphere, the fiery halo was now a tail clinging on behind the ship as still Luke tried to shed speed, forcing the ship out of its nose-forward dive to the hard earth.  
  
Wild, unpredictable turbulence threw the little craft around as it were a feather in the wind, every effort Luke made to right the craft being countered by the shove of a violent gust sending the craft dangerously close to those sand dunes or canyons. Luke tried to aim for a space bare of any of those unforgiving landforms. He managed to get the thing almost level as the ground accelerated towards him, the craft lurched suddenly as the stabilisers gave way, sending the fighter careening to wards a towering cliff-face, Luke clung on, hoping he wouldn't end as a small fireball against it's craggy, bare sides.  
  
Points of sharpened rock, hundreds of meters high reached up from the sides of the cliff like razor-edged teeth trying to snag the small ship. Luke determinedly aimed for the sand filled wasteland beyond the cliff's side.   
  
Using the Force, he tried to tease the little craft away from their rocky sides, whilst not sending it into another spin.   
The towering cliffs were past and the sandy ground spread out to meet him, he put all his effort into slowing the ship down. As the surface raced towards him, he gritted his teeth and clung onto the stick. At last, the repulsors fired, he felt them whine reluctantly as they kicked in.  
  
The suns reflection blinded him now that he was out of the cliff's shadow again, the ground suddenly dazzlingly bright. Only a few meters left...the right repulsor choked and died, sending the crafting lurching over.   
  
The right side wing hit the ground with a jarring jolt that threw Luke against his restraints. The ground wasn't as sandy as he had thought; grit and pebbles flew up with the sparks as the wing made contact, blowing around him as the cockpit window gave way in a hail of transparisteel shards that cut at him. He held onto the controls, not daring to let go of the joystick yet and closing his eyes to the storm: hoping the craft would hold together. It careened along the ground shaking him in his way-too-large restraints, but, mercifully, they held.   
  
The wing finally snapped sending the ship rolling over and over as the second wing gave way under the assault. Luke held on, willing the craft to stop. More stone and sand swirled round him as the craft stopped rolling and started sliding along the ground again with a loud screech that tore at his ears.   
  
The restraints ripped and then snapped. Luke had only a moment's feeling of horror before he was flung clear of the doomed craft by its own momentum.   
  
The ground rushed towards him, somehow the speed seeming more real than when he had been inside the ship.  
  
His last memories before he hit the ground and blacked out were of the tremendous bang as the fighter exploded dramatically in a mushroom cloud of blasted sand and hot metal, and the feeling of pain as the fire reached him, scorching his skin where the flames took a hold of his clothes.   
  
And then nothing.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Leia woke groggily from a deep sleep. Sunlight streamed in through her window, bright and warming. She turned lazily, pulling the sheets into a more comfortable position and snuggled down into the bed. She could feel Han's presence in the next room over, he was talking to someone, but she couldn't tell who. Probably, she should get up and go find out who it was, but the bed was just too comfortable. As her small bedroom clock beeped on the hour, she lay, counting the beeps. When they past ten she began to wonder how it had got so late, she opened her eyes to look at its display.  
  
_12 o'clock !??!  
  
_She sat up in surprise. She must have been really tired last night. Keeping the sheets hugged around her body, she reached over to the chair for an old pair of combats and a shirt that lay there. Funny, she couldn't remember wearing those yesterday, and she never left her clothes in a heap like that. Shaking her head, she figured it'd come back to her when she woke up some more. She dressed, brushing sleep from her eyes and resisting the urge to yawn. Picking up her hairbrush and beginning to snag the knots out of her hair, she strolled into their lounge. Han turned round to look at her as she walked in, his face a mixture of concern and relief. After a heartbeat, he turned back to the comm,   
  
"Yeah, Wedge, we'll meet you in the medical bay. See you down there." he flicked it off and walked over to Leia, studying her face. She continued to brush her hair, pulling the brush firmly but softly threw the length of it.   
  
"Are you okay?" he asked, taking a hold of her shoulders and staring intently into her eyes. Confused, she put the brush down and stared back into his eyes   
  
"What? Yes, why wouldn't I be?" She moved past him, heading for the kitchen area. He turned to watch her walk,   
  
"After last night..." it was his turn to be confused. What was up with her?  
  
"Hmmm? What about it? You should have woken me you know I-"  
  
"Leia, I couldn't wake you! You were out cold! What happened last night?" he paced over to her side,  
  
"Last night? I-" she shook her head "I cant remember" the haze started to lift and she turned back to look at Han.  
  
"Luke..." she whispered, putting a hand to her head in concentration. She shook it in frustration.  
  
"You can't remember?" he asked her.   
  
"No, I-" she broke of as images flooded into her mind; strange black ships and aliens, vague images battle; overlaid by the image of a huge sandy planet. She gasped. How had she _forgotten_ last night?   
  
"What?" Han asked, concern etched into his face.  
  
"Why couldn't I remember?" she said, not really asking. Images flashed, again, of the planet bearing down on her.   
  
"I don't know," he said "but you've been out cold since about midnight."  
  
Leia nodded, Han obviously wanted to know what shed seen last night. "he umm...he was on some cruiser, he escaped, but he crashed and then..." she shook her head "I guess when he blacked out, I must have gone with him."  
  
"But is he okay?" Han asked, trying to break through her hazy memories.  
  
"II don't know. His ship blew up- I felt the heat- I don't know."  
  
Han sighed. He guessed he was going to have to wait before she told him everything that had happened. "Come on, I'll make you something warm to drink. Then we have to go meet Wedge."  
  
Leia just nodded again, and then her thoughts caught up with her   
  
"Wedge! He's back?" Of course he was back, she'd heard Han speaking to him. This haze upon her consciousness was effecting more than her memory.   
  
"Yeah, he got back last night, caught a few hours sleep before calling us." he frowned "He wouldn't mention what happened over the comm. Corrans' in the medical bay." he added quietly.   
  
"Why?" Leia asked, concern in her voice now, too.   
  
"I don't know, he wouldn't say." Leia thought for a moment. One of those images... it had felt like the touch of an old friend... Corran? Maybe.  
  
"Come on, lets skip the drink, we need to find out what happened."  
  
  
---  
  
  
"Wedge!" Han greeted their friend as they entered the medical wing. The Imperial Palace had one of the best medical facilities you could find anywhere in the galaxy, and all the strange equipment always made Leia feel a little uneasy.   
  
Wedge turned around to face them "Hi, Han." he said with a slight smile "You sure know how to pick the difficult assignments don't you?"   
  
Leia looked at the Corran lying on the bed next to him "How is he?" she asked.  
  
"He'll be fine." Wedge said, dropping down into the chair at his side "He went into a healing trance when we jumped out and- sorry, I guess I better start at the beginning." he visibly braced himself before he started. Something intangible crossed his features.   
  
He reached and took Leia's hand squeezing it. The movement sent a shiver down her spine. She didn't need the Force to tell this wasn't going to be easy to hear.   
  
"Come on." He said, dropping her hand "We can talk over here."

Episode 4 coming up

Teaser Excerpt...

It was already decided, he realised. Fate, destiny, the Force, it didn't matter why or what it was, but it was already decided.   
  
He couldn't let himself be taken back to the ssi-ruuk cruiser. Not just for himself, but for everyone else; he had come _that _close to killing his friends, had killed others who were just as innocent as they were. He couldn't let that happen again. The very essence of being a Jedi knight was to protect others, and here, now, protecting them meant protecting them from him.  
  
It wasn't so much his Jedi morals kicking in, as it was a sense of inevitability brought on by his own humanity.   
He thoughts went back to Ben on the first death star. Luke knew that his death wouldn't be for quite such a high purpose as Obi-Wan's had been, wouldn't have anything to do with the Force really. Which was strange, in its own way, after having been trained in the Force for over 15 years now, Luke had fully expected that when it came, his death would be either to help preserve the lightside or defeat the darkside. It was surprising to realise his death with be about humanity, not the Force.   
  
Or maybe that was what the Force was about; life and death; lightside and darkside.   
  
He'd never liked the title '_hero_'- what was a hero but a perfect man who killed?   
  
It wasn't an image that stuck on him well.   
  
Maybe no one would even know he'd died here, maybe they'd never even know he'd survived Cassrine. Dying in defence of people who would never even realise you'd died for them was probably the most heroic deed you could do.   
  
Not that it mattered whether it was heroic or not, whether it was to do with the Force or not, it simply had to be done: there was no trick Luke had to miraculously escape the ssi-ruuk. He could try, but if they caught him he might never get the chance again to stop them.   
  
He sighed, resigned to do it.   
  
Inevitably, his thoughts went to all the people he wouldn't see again, all the things he'd never do.   
  
But then, he'd done enough.  
  
Now it was just a question of how. 


	4. Episode Four

Disclaimer -Same old thing applies- if I owned these characters you think I would be sat around writing fanfiction? Im just borrowing them, and if Im lucky Lucas will never know they were gone...

Please review and/or email me with comments, they are much appreciated.

Thanks go to the George Lucas. I couldnt, after all, leave him out now could I? Oh, and to Mark Hamill for being so damn sexy.

Mina - vikki18@totalise.co.uk

**Abhoration and the Alternative**

**Episode 4**

Chapter One : old friends

"Hey! Can you hear me! You okay?" The voice seemed to tear through his consciousness.   
  
"Hey! Come on, don't quit on me now."  
  
"Forget it captain, he ain't gonna wake."  
  
"I can at least try. Come on! Wake up!"  
  
"It's not doing any good. Wait till we can get him to a hospital."  
  
He could feel the wind whipping up his hair and pushing it away from his face. He tried to move his head.  
  
"I thinks he's coming round-- no, keep your eyes ahead, I don't trust this damn thing."  
  
"Okay, okay."  
  
"Hey, friend? You awake?" Luke stirred, tried to move his hand to his head. "Hey, no, keep still. Can you open your eyes?"   
  
Luke tried, they were dry from hours of being closed, but he managed to open them just a small way, and close them again as the glare of sunlight suddenly blinded him.   
  
"Slowly, try again." the man's voice was concerned but stern. Luke obeyed, opening them again, slower this time to get used to the   
light.   
  
"Hey, welcome back." a dark-haired man leaned over and looked into his face "I thought you were never going to wake up." he joked.   
  
Luke lay on his back, he was vaguely aware of metal underneath him, but his senses were numb. The man's face stood out against the intense blue sky with a few wispy clouds fleeting quickly overhead. Too fast: he must be moving, probably in an open-top speeder.   
  
He tried to turn his head around to see where he lay, but a strong arm held him down as spasms of pain shot through his neck,   
  
"Hey! Hey, what did I say about not moving huh?" He could feel the wind rushing past his face, dry and gritty and biting into his face. It reminded him of noon on Tatooine.  
  
Luke tried to ask, "Where am I?" but his parched mouth couldn't form the words.  
  
"Hang on." The man reached past Luke's head, and came back holding a water casket. The speeder jolted, sending its passengers sliding into the sides of the vehicle. Luke winced as the man hurriedly put his arm out to stop him from slamming into the side.   
  
"Dankin! Slow down, damnit!" he growled. Dankin? He knew that name...the memory wouldn't click.  
  
The man turned back to Luke "Here you go," he said putting the casket to Luke's lip and letting the water trickle coolly down his throat.   
  
Luke worked his lips and managed to say, if a little croakily "Where are we?"  
  
"Enroute to Cabanor City." he laughed as he replaced the top of the water bottle and set it aside "Not that it would be a city in most peoples books, but there it is."  
  
"What happened?" was Luke's next obvious question.   
  
"Well, friend, we were hoping you'd be able to tell us that." he frowned "You're lucky we saw your ship come down, out here there's not a lot of people to see you crash, however spectacularly. The Force knows how you survived but then, I guess Jedi have a few more tricks for that kind of thing than us non-Force users."   
  
Luke's started. _How?_  
  
"Hey, relax." Again, the hand pressing down on his shoulder "Moving will only make it worse. Don't worry, I thought you might remember me but I guess you're still a little dazed by it all. I'm Aves, the crazy driver up front is Dankin, my pilot from the Peregrine's Nest."  
  
"Nice to meet you." Luke half said, half mouthed. He did remember them, he was sure he did but he couldn't quite place them.  
  
"You too, Luke." he frowned "You don't remember do you?" Luke shook his head, regretting the action.  
  
"That's okay. We'll get you to a medical facility soon, your probably still shook up." he leaned back out of Luke's view. "You couldn't have picked a more desolate place to crash Luke. I'd love to hear what happened."   
  
Luke could feel himself start to black out again as Aves' words began to sound like they were coming from a long way away. The bright blue sky was getting darker in his mind as dark clouds started to blur his vision. Aves said something Luke couldn't make out, waited for him to reply, when Luke didn't his face reappeared as a weak shadow against Luke's fading world. Vaguely he heard Aves worried shout "Dankin! He's blacking out again how much-"   
  
He fell back into a deep, dark night.   
  
  
---  
  
  
"Han, I'm still not sure about this." Leia shouted up the _Falcon's_ ramp. Han's head appeared, a dark streak of oil smeared across his face,  
  
"Leia, you said yourself we couldn't take this to the council. They'd probably think we were being delusional." she sighed; yes she had said that earlier hadn't she? When Wedge had explained it all to them, her first reaction was of course to go after Luke, preferably with a large battle group armed to the teeth behind them.  
  
"And even if they did, it'd take them days just to decide who to put in charge." he gave her his best rye look. She'd had that thought herself too. Lugging their heavy bags up the ramp and into the ship she said,   
  
"Still, I wish we could have had a little back up. I don't like the idea of going out alone."  
  
"What, so you want to wait a few weeks while the senate gets itself into gear." he chided her "Leia, we talking about a rescue mission here, not an all-out war. Not yet."  
  
"Yeah I guess." she gave in, resting at the top of the ramp. She disliked the idea of sitting around on Coruscant waiting for a decision whilst Luke needed their help as much as he did. Han took the bags from her and headed back into the ship.  
  
"Leia, a few days ago you said to me that if it came down to it, you would order the whole Republic fleet after Luke if you could; if you knew where he was. Well, we know where he is, but we cant send the whole fleet after him, it'll take too long, but we _can_ go after him ourselves, and I think you know -deep down- that we really haven't got a choice but to go, and go _now_. From what Wedge has described and your contact with him, he might have found a way to escape them, and if he has, he's going to need our help." He looked at her pointedly. He was right, she knew, but she couldn't help feeling just a little bit uneasy about it.   
  
"Okay, I'm going to go make sure the kids haven't got threepio running in circles yet." she called after him into the ship.  
  
She stepped out of the ship and looked around, searching for his distinctive shape amongst the people crowding in the docking bay. Instead, she saw someone else she recognised.   
  
What was he doing here?  
  
"Admiral!" she greeted Admiral Ackbar as he strode purposefully towards her. She hoped he wasn't going to try and stop her going.  
  
"Princess," he said in his gravely voice "I heard you are going on a...trip."  
  
Deciding to take the offensive, she interrupted him "Yes, Admiral, I wont be gone long I-" she tried to think up a quick, believable excuse "we're going to visit-"  
  
"Its okay, Princess, I know where your going, and I'm not here to stop you." he said, holding up a hand in gesture for her to stop.   
  
"Your not?" she frowned at him. Then why was he here?  
  
"Actually, I think I may be able to help you." he looked around the bay, and Leia noticed for the first time that he seemed a little nervous.   
  
"Shall we go onboard?" she asked, gesturing up the _Falcon's_ ramp.  
  
"Yes, I think that might be wise." he said, striding past her and up the ramp. She shook her head. This really didn't make sense.  
  
  
---   
  
  
"Hey Leia, you ready-" Han stopped mid-sentence as he recognised the Admiral. He threw the oily rag he'd been wiping his hands on onto the game table in the main hold "Admiral." he greeted the mon calamari.   
  
"Solo."  
  
A silence hung in the air. Leia coughed uneasily and broke it, "I believe you were about to tell us how you could help us, Admiral."   
  
"Yes," the Admiral addressed Leia, suddenly grave "I heard that Rogue Squadron encountered a battle fleet in the rim, I'd also heard that that fleet was ssi-ruuvi."   
  
Leia started. No one, _no one_, was supposed to know that yet. Flustered, but only for a moment, she answered him,  
  
"That's what we believe, yes. " she said, letting him continue.  
  
"Since the invasion of Bakura, a number of scientists have been working on the captured entechment machinery and ships that we took at that battle, the most notable was by Cray Mingla, a student of Luke's for a time, I believe." Leia remembered, she had given her life to stop the Eye of Palpatine. "We've also made some progress in other areas, but I'm afraid not very much. Apart from this."   
  
He pulled a small black box out of his pocket. Leia looked at it in interest, she could see Han was itching to take it apart and dissect it.   
  
"Dev Sibwarra was on their main cruiser for a few years, during that time he began to translate their language. He also began to translate some well known books and poetry into ssi-ruuvi, all this was onboard the ship we captured, he was very precise and meticulous about it, and from his notes we've been able to built this. Its still a prototype and a little crude," he almost apologised "but, considering you might have to board their ship, it should come in useful." he handed over to Leia, she took it from him, it was surprisingly light and easy to hold.  
  
"Admiral," she said, resisting the urge to ask him why she hadn't heard of this military research before, "Thank you, I know it will come in useful. I promise we will bring it back in one piece."   
  
Her tilted his head at her, suddenly grave look passing over his face, "Just make sure _you_ come back in one piece." he smiled at her.   
Leia had always felt he thought of her as a sort of surrogate daughter.   
  
She smiled back, "Thank you." she said again.   
  
"And now, I better let you two get of. " he moved to exit the ship. "I hope you find Luke. May the Force be with you."  
When he had left Han turned to her, "Well, that was unexpected. I thought he was going demand you get back in the senate hall for a minute there."  
  
"Yeah, well, thank the Force for small favours." she said, setting the small box safely aside "Let me go make sure threepio knows exactly who's in charge of who."  
  
  
---  
  
  
A bright light shone in one eye, then the other, but Luke didn't think he had the energy to even flinch from it. "What's his name?" an unfamiliar voice asked, sounding muffled and distant.   
  
"Deak." That was Aves' voice, he knew, though it too sounded distorted. "Okay," the voice again, closer to him this time "Deak? Deak? Can you hear me?"   
  
Luke moved his head slightly to try and find whose voice it was. "Okay, he's drifting in and out of consciousness and his reflexes are slow. I'm going to get him up and on a drip; he's badly dehydrated. What happened? "   
  
"His ship crashed in the desert, we found him about an hour afterwards." Aves said. Their voices seemed to be drifting off.   
  
"Deak? He's losing consciousness again. Lets get him up to the ward."   
  
Luke had the distinct feeling of movement as the wind of their travel brushed at his face. There was the sound of running steps, but   
Luke couldn't tell where they came from. Shadows seemed to be forming in his mind again, he tried to fight the growing darkness but found himself slipping deeper.   
  
The voices were like whispers now. Vaguely, he felt them slow, and then stop. Frantic voices shouted instructions as people rushed in and out of his awareness before it went totally dark.  
  
  
---   
  
  
  
"How are you feeling?" a voice said from his side. Luke turned over to look at Aves.  
  
"Okay I guess." He struggled to sit up.   
  
"Lay still, you're not healed yet. I was only allowed in here on the condition I wouldn't let you move."  
  
"I'm okay," Luke said, leaning back against his pillow "just a little tired."  
  
"Well, you shouldn't be, you've been asleep for 5 days. "  
  
Luke looked at him in wonder "5 days! Wow...."  
  
Ave's smiled. "Actually, the doctors are considering you a bit of a medical miracle. You shouldn't be alive at all."  
  
"You didn't tell them who I am?" he asked, worried.   
  
Aves moved closer to his bed "No, I didn't think that would be the best course to take. As far as they're concerned you're Deak Cheptan, 29, comm officer on my ship. Your single, naieve and a mechanics whiz kid. Since the invasion they've been a bit jittery around here, everyone who comes in has to have some sort of ID. Fortunately for us, they're not jittery enough to do a DNA test. They'll probably have checked up on the ID we used, though, so you might be better to act in-character." he said, frowning. Luke didn't like his look.   
  
"What happened to Deak?" he asked, sounding sympathetic.   
  
Aves sighed, "He died on the way in, the console blew up in his face." Luke nodded, not pushing him further.  
  
He lay back and closed his eyes, settled deeper into the pillows. Aves looked at him, he looked tired and the fatigue was showing on his face, but other than that, he looked pretty good for a man who had had some serious burns, several broken bones, concussion and head injuries.   
  
"How long before we can get out of here?" Luke asked, his eyes still closed.   
  
"At least a couple more days. "   
  
Suddenly he leaned forward, focusing crystal blue eyes on Aves, shaking his head insistently.   
  
"That's too long, I have to get out of here, soon." Aves took a deep breath, about to broach a subject he'd tried to avoid until now. He leaned closer to Luke.   
  
"Luke, when they did a scan." he bit his lip, not sure how to ask this "What's the implant in your head?" he asked, deciding skipping round the subject wouldn't help. A palanthra of emotions spread in quick succession across Luke's face.   
  
"I..." he started, paused then started again "Is it important?" he asked.   
  
"Well, it had the doctors baffled, but they didn't touch it." he said, wondering whether that was reassuring or troubling to Luke. Obviously the latter, he realised as Luke's face fell. "Hey, we don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, I can-" he broke of, Luke was staring intently at him. There was something in his face..fear? "I have to get of this planet." he said, almost pleading with Aves.  
  
Aves swallowed, realised this was not just Luke wanting to get out of hospital..."Okay, I'll see if we can get you out of here by tomorrow.   
The _Peregrine's Nest_ -my ship- is damaged, but I should be able to get something off the ground by tomorrow night."   
Again that intense look. It was definitely fear. And whatever got a Jedi Master worried was definitely something Aves should be scared of "And...If they don't let you out, well, we'll just have to bust you out-"   
  
"Thank you." Luke said, the fear in his face almost retreating now.   
  
Aves pointed at him and said sternly "But I'm only doing this in the condition that you do your best to get better, Jedi Master or not, I don't want to be hauling you along all the way. "   
  
"I'll be ready." Luke said, again falling back into the depth of his pillows. Aves moved to get up and go, but Luke reached out a hand to stop him "Aves, thank you." he said, simply,   
  
"Hey, that's okay, you can pay me when we get out of here."   
  
Luke actually managed a laugh "Cash or account?" he joked.   
  
Aves moved away and stopped at the door. "See you tomorrow, Deak." he said, Luke nodded and closed his eyes, falling into a Jedi healing trance.   
  
"Don't be late." faintly, he head the door shut before he sank back into darkness.   
  
  
---  
  
  
  
Leia sat behind Han in the _Falcon's_ cockpit, watching her husband and his wookiee sidekick send the ship hurtling into hyperspace.   
  
He leaned back in his chair and stretched. "Well, next stop Sele4, sand dunes and mercenaries a speciality."  
  
"Not together I hope," Leia whispered from behind him. He swung around in his seat to face her. "Oh, maybe. If we get unlucky." She grinned, then settled back into the chair, picking at the worn black fabric. "You know Han, this is getting a little tatty, why don't you-"  
  
"Wait, Leia." he said, pointing a finger at her "You are not going to touch the _Falcon_. We agreed, remember..." he broke of as she started to laugh "That's not funny." he protested. She continued to laugh. "Tell her Chewie. It's not funny." the wookie just woofeld softly to himself   
  
"Well, fine, just remember who's supposed to be laughing at who when we get back to Coruscant..." he said, a flicker of slyness sneaking into his voice   
  
"What?" she asked, falling for it.   
  
"Oh, I just thought the bedroom needed redecorating...something a bit more..._urban_" he said. She gasped.   
  
"Han you didn't! You- oh, very funny. I'm really laughing."   
  
Han was laughing now, overdoing it a bit maybe, but using it for all it was worth. She scowled. "What's wrong Princess. Too scoundrelous for you?"   
  
She couldn't help but smile before her cheeks flushed with embarrassment and she looked away. He grinned, turning back to the controls. "Come on, we've got a few hours yet." that was an understatement "There's still a few adjustments we need to make, Chewie." He lifted himself out of his chair and brushed past Leia. She was still blushing from his last remark, "Anything I can help with?" she asked, deciding to let his joke at her expense slide.   
  
He stopped, thinking. "Umm, na, there's nothing particularly urgent." Chewie moved past her now as Han walked on "You could keep an eye on the cockpit." Han's voice shouted back as an afterthought.   
  
"Yeah, sure," she whispered "I'll just baby-sit while you go play." Resignedly, she dropped down into the pilot's chair, checking controls.   
This was going to be a long journey; maybe she should catch up on her sleep....  
  
  
**Chapter Two : Maybe....**

"Admiral, welcome." Fr'h'tokh welcomed the leader of their task force formally. "It is an honour for you to have joined us."   
  
"It would not have been necessary if you had been more competent at your tasks." the admiral clipped, striding over to Fr'h'tokh "but...I wont dwell on that issue. For now we need to make plans, not just for the recapture of Skywalker. The offensive is going well, better than we had hoped even, we need to decide on a new target."  
  
"Yes, sir." Fr'h'tokh answered obediently. "I have a full holographic of this region of space in my ready room, perhaps?" he asked tentatively.   
  
The Admiral might have been comfortable talking about such matters in front of the bridge crew, but Fr'h'tokh was not. It wasn't that he didn't trust them, but he thought it wise that they left as little opportunity for valuable battle information to be leaked as possible. The Admiral studied him a moment, before walking towards the room. Without a word, Fr'h'tokh followed him. As the doors swooshed shut, the Admiral turned to him "You doubt your crew?" he asked bluntly.   
  
Fr'h'tokh swallowed, "No, sir, that is...no, definitely not. I just believe in having as few people know about delicate matters as possible."   
  
The Admiral nodded "Ah, overly cautious perhaps, but not unwise." he said.   
  
He moved over to the viewport. "First, we need to address the Skywalker problem. Whether or not we can continue the operation without him is not the most important issue here." He said, studying a small statuette of their Emperor "What matters now is that he holds a key to our defeat. Perhaps he does not realise why yet, but Swh'hr'ring's implant allows him to control our droids. That technology must _not_ be allowed out of our sight." he looked up from the statue "I'm as anxious as you to use his talents, and for the moment we should endeavour to collect him from the surface, but if at any point his escape looks even slightly possible, I want him killed. The technology must _not_ get out. It would compromise the whole ssi-ruuvi Imperium." he turned a steely gaze on Fr'h'tokh. "I hope that is understood." his tone made it obvious that there was no room for argument.  
  
"Yes, Admiral."  
  
"Good. I have been considering the best course of action and I think the best way to go about this is by means of attrition." he said, again turning to look out at the planet turning serenely below them. He was down there...somewhere...  
  
"I don't understand-"  
  
"Attrition." he repeated, "Wear him down. Two, maybe more, small but well placed attacks to wear him out before we -you _and _I- go down to the surface with a large armed band of men and collect him."   
  
Fr'h'tokh hesitated before he spoke "Sir, wouldn't that put ssi-ruuvi lives at risks? No one wants to die away for-"  
"You believe that P'w'ecks will be sufficient?" the Admiral interrupted him scornfully.   
  
Fr'h'tokh sighed resignedly "No, sir." he said. It was true: it was unlikely a band of their small subservient creatures could recapture Skywalker. They had proved woefully inept at the job onboard this ship, and they would probably be worse on the surface.  
  
"Good, then it is settled. I want the first group down there by tomorrow night. Now, we have other business. Our next attack."  
  
  
---  
  
  
Luke pulled himself up into a sitting position and stretched. "Good morning." Aves said, walking away from the now-open curtains. "You feeling up to it?" he asked, walking to Luke's side.   
  
"Sure." Luke answered, adjusting his eyes to the new light level, squinting only slightly.   
  
"Good. Here." he threw a pile of dark clothes at Luke. "Hope they're your size."   
  
Luke held them up appraisingly: a simple, slightly shaped black top and trousers. Very plain. Very nondescript. He'd blend in nicely.   
  
"What time is it?" he asked as he started to get dressed.   
  
"Oh, about noon." Aves was staring intently at one of the prints that were scattered around the room as token decoration.  
  
"Interesting." he said lightly. Aves turned to face Luke as he was pulling on a pair of black shoes. He studied Luke's face, to Aves, he still look unnaturally pale and tired "You sure you're up to this?" he asked.   
  
"I'm fine." Luke said, a little too tightly, not looking up. Aves might have argued but he let it slide. He was just as eager as Luke to get of this planet and contact Karrde.   
  
"Okay, lets go." Luke said, pushing up from the bed and testing muscles he hadn't used in too long.   
  
"Right, remember. Your Deak Cheptan, 29, _naive._ " he said, walking to the door.   
  
"Oh, I think I can do naive." Luke said, smiling to himself as they stepped out of the room.  
  
The corridor was typical of a lot of backwater structures: plain and bright without much in the way of decoration.   
  
"Oh, no." Aves whispered.   
  
"What?" Luke whispered back  
  
"That's your doctor."  
  
"No droids?" Luke asked. Aves shook his head slightly, mouthing 'too expensive'.  
  
A small grey man walked towards them, seemingly engrossed in a handful of papers. He got closer, past them. Luke could almost hear Aves' mental sigh of relief -before the doctor turned around and stared at them. _Damn it._  
  
"Hey. Hey! What do you think your doing out of bed?" They froze. Luke adopted a wide-eyed innocence as they turned.   
  
"Huh?" he said, acting dumbfounded whilst at the same time reaching out to the Force to persuade the man it was okay. "I'm fine, doc. I don't nee-"   
  
"Your not fine." the man growled back.   
  
Luke looked worried "I was just stretching my legs." the man mind was resolute that Luke shouldn't be out of bed, but even so Luke pushed at his mind, hoping to persuade him."  
  
"No. Get back to bed. Now, or I'll have an orderly drag you back."   
  
Aves stepped in, "Hey, he only wanted to walk" he stepped closer to the man "I'll make sure he gets back there, I promise." The man seemed to falter a moment, but then rejected Aves' excuse.   
  
"No good, he shouldn't even be vertical." Luke saw Aves slip a small blaster out of the inside of his sleeve. He hadn't wanted it to be like this, but he had to agree that they were getting nowhere with this.   
  
Luke looked guilty "Look," he said, fidgeting uneasily "I didn't mean to cause any trouble, I just wanted to get out, you know, it gets awful close in there and-" Aves struck, he didn't blast the man, he brought the edge of his blaster down against the back of his neck. The doctor slumped to the ground. Luke was by his side, feeling the back of his neck   
  
"He's stunned, help me get him out of view." he said, lifting him up and dragging him towards a small store cupboard to his left. Aves reholstered his blaster and helped Luke   
  
"We don't need problems like that. We have enough already." He said as they dumped the man's unconscious form in the room and closed the door. "Nice act, by the way." he said   
  
"I've had a lot of practice." Luke answered easily "Come on." They headed back down the corridor.  
  
  
---  
  
  
  
Luke and Aves strode casually down the dusty streets, Luke was shocked by just how much it reminded him of Mos Eisley, though here and there was the hint of culture that Tatooine's main port never showed. They were heading for the main docking bays: Aves had secured a ship that would get them off planet but was inconspicuous enough not to cause them too much attention.  
  
"It wasn't easy either." he told Luke "Since the occupation by the ssi-ruuk, there's all but no hyperspace capable ships on planet -they were either all destroyed the battle or they jumped as soon as they got the chance." Luke just nodded, his senses alert for any warning that they were nearing ssi-ruuk. But, so far, they seemed content to occupy the planet by proxy.   
  
"Have you seen them on the surface?" he asked Aves.   
  
"Just once, a few days ago; after we found you, that's all. They haven't made any obvious moves on what counts for shipyards here, or any of the mining operations. I'm beginning to wonder why they invaded at all." He said,   
  
"It was a testing ground." Luke said simply.   
  
There had been something in his voice "Oh?" Aves asked.   
  
"They were testing how their army worked against-" he broke off,  
  
"What?" Aves asked, his blaster out.   
  
Luke's hand clenched around his own borrowed blaster. "They're waiting for us." he said tightly.  
  
  
---  
  
  
"Okay, keep calm. Where are they?" he scanned around the street but couldn't see anything unusual. "Maybe we can still make it to the docking bays."  
  
Luke shook his head. "No, there right in front of us, over there. " He pointed slightly to his left.  
  
"Perfect," Aves whispered "that's where the bay is. You want to try breaking through or lay low and hope they leave?" He asked Luke, not taking his eyes of the street.  
  
"I don't think we can hide -they're behind us now too."   
  
Aves swore under his breath. "Why now? Why couldn't they stay off-planet for just a little while longer huh? You sure they'll be gunning for you if they meet us?"   
  
Luke turned to look at Aves. "Yes." he said, simply and with conviction.   
  
Evidently, it was enough to convince him they would "Ok, then I guess we try and lose them. Any ideas?"  
  
Luke looked around the street, looking for any likely cover or escape. It was lined with shops and houses, edge to edge, no side roads leading off, and not much in the way of cover. It was almost deserted, so they wouldn't just be able to blend into the background. Luke momentarily considered climbing onto the roofs of the houses, but they looked dry and crumbling and he didn't think Aves -or him for that matter- would like to try it and fall several feet to the ground. Their only option was to get to the end of the street and hope they'd be more than one turning.   
  
"Come on." Luke said, holding the blaster low but ready, he jogged towards the end of the street, Aves following swiftly.   
  
"You've got a plan other than running into their arms I hope." He said.   
  
"Not really," Luke admitted. They slowed down as they reached the far end if the street. It was blind ending and unsurprisingly, only turned left.   
  
Luke let a sigh slip from him. Well, his luck was rotten lately.  
  
"We're going to have to fight it out," he told Aves as he hugged the wall and peered around the corner and up the street. "I only count about 6 of them, when we get the chance, split up. I'll meet you back at the docking bay. If I'm not there, then get off the planet."  
  
"What? No way, I'm supposed to be getting you out of here, remember?"   
  
"When they see you're with me, you wont be able to stay long here. You'll have to go." he turned to look at Aves. "Thank you." he said   
  
"Thank you for everything, I'm sorry you got caught up in this mess, when you get back to Coruscant, contact Leia, she'll pay you."   
  
"Hey, you're starting to sound like your not going to even try and get to the ship. I won't get paid nearly as much if your not there." he protested, only half jokingly.  
  
"Ready?" Luke asked, not replying. Aves seemed about to protest, but then decided against it. He checked his blaster's setting once more before nodding.  
  
"Ready."  
  
Luke reached out to the Force as they flew out of their hiding place and into the middle of the street. The sandy floor made them skid a   
little as they sprinted around the corner, stones and grit flying up behind them. That was probably a good thing: it provided them with a measure over cover behind a curtain of sand. There were 7 aliens, luckily most were facing away from tensely staring down the other streets and alleyways that criss-crossed the port. The other two were staring right at them.   
  
They looked liked they were waiting for them, too. Luke couldn't read them, they were too alien, but the way they gripped anxiously onto the paddle beamers and the tense atmosphere told him enough.   
  
Aves came out behind Luke, firing all the way, the shots whistling past his ears as he dive-rolled into the street, firing. Two ssi-ruuk fell under his barrage of fire, honking in surprise as the energy engulfed them and then crashing to the ground with a resounding thud.   
  
There were five left.   
  
Luke had to give them credit: they were quick, despite being caught by surprise. He came up out of his roll and level of the blaster, his fire directed on one of the aliens as its hand went to his paddle beamer; it fell. Even as he began to sprint for the cover of the far wall,   
Luke realised they wouldn't be able to get them all once they had their paddle beamers out. Shifting the blaster to his left hand in a smooth motion as he rebounded of the wall and sprang forward, he let the Force take control. He threw his right hand out in a commanding action of control, channelling the flood of energy that coursed through him towards the remaining aliens.   
  
It was almost as if he could palpably feel the energy ripple outwards; the four were picked up roughly by an invisible wind that rushed towards them in a wave of energy, it blew them backwards off their feet throwing them several meters before dumping them unceremoniously onto the hard ground.  
  
Using the advantage, Luke ran towards them as Aves took out the first one to clamber uncertainly to it's feet. Luke arrived, and with a square kick under it's chin that hit with a crack, the nearest one fell backwards. A brush with the Force and he knocked it into black oblivion before turning his attention to the next.  
  
From nowhere, an alien flashed into view and leapt at him. Sharp claws dug into his arms as it wrestled him, throwing him violently to the ground. His head cracked backwards onto the hard ground. It would have sent a spike of pain through him if he hadn't been so concentrated in the Force. The alien landed on top of him heavily, knocking the wind out of him and making him see stars.  
  
Blaster fire ripped threw the air, whistling past Luke's ear and hitting the last to get up square in the chest. It slumped backwards into a sitting position, looking more like it was simply tired and resting than dead. The one on top of Luke brought his paddle beamer out and fired blind at Aves. Luke wrestled with the hand holding the beamer, but the shot had already been fired. He heard Aves shout in surprise as the beam hit.  
  
The big alien reversed the paddle and brought it up, intending to send it crashing across Luke's skull.   
  
He got both feet under its chest and pushed backwards, biting back on the pain that surged through his muscles with the weight. For a normal human it would have done nothing against the massive alien, but with the Force, the ssi-ruuk flew backwards, crashing into the wall of a nearby shop and slumping to the ground.   
  
Luke force himself to breath, feeling air rushing into his crushed lungs. He rolled over, sand grinding into the cuts in his arm where the alien had grabbed him. He levered himself to his feet slowly, checking that all the aliens were out cold. Half crawling, he staggered over to Aves' slumped body and felt uneasily for a pulse. He was unconscious but probably not hurt.  
  
He looked behind them, wiping a hand across his brow, streaking sweat and dirt. The street was clear but he could feel more ssi-ruuk rushing towards them; one of the aliens must have got a call off sometime during the fight. He looked down at Ave's unconscious body, weighing up whether or not he would be able to manage to carry him. He hadn't realised just how tired he was, but he knew he couldn't leave him here with ssi-ruuk chasing them. Heaving up Aves unconscious body over his shoulder, he jogged as fast as he could under the dead weight towards the end of the street. More aliens appeared in the distance, blocking Luke's way to the docking bays. He took the only route left and dodged into a side alley. The shade provided some reprieve but he kept on running, gasping for breath as his bruised ribs strained.   
  
Turning out of the alley, he made it perhaps another 500 metres down a street running parallel to the one he'd just left. He knelt down in the sand, carefully putting Aves onto the ground and laying his head back slowly into the shade. He leaned against a wall, brushing sweat from his forehead, giving himself just a moment to catch his breath.   
  
He felt like the world was crashing in on him, like a noose around his neck was tightening and there was no escape. But Luke had   
learnt long ago, during the rebellion, even during his time on Tatooine, that despair simply wasn't an alternative. He had to clear his mind, think this through. He leaned back into the sand, thinking.   
  
  
---   
  
  
He couldn't carry on like this, Aves wasn't going to gain anything for Luke carrying him around like this, it'd be better for him if Luke could get him hidden and hope he could lose the aliens. In the glare of the sun, he glimpsed an open doorway that seemed deserted. Luke dragged Aves body over and hid him from view of the street before stepping out again. The street was shorter than the last one, and blind ending in a large, disused industrial building that was boarded up. The street had several side alleys, each leading to an uncertain end, and Luke couldn't be sure which held ssi-ruuk and which didn't.  
  
He felt a warm feeling on the side of his head. He put his hand up, feeling blood. He hadn't realised he'd hit his head, couldn't even feel the cut.   
  
He checked his blaster as he surveyed the street.   
  
Checked it again.   
  
It was out.  
  
Oh_ damn! _His luck was_ really _rotten today.   
  
He threw the useless weapon aside and crouched further into the meagre cover of a shop doorway.  
  
  
---   
  
  
  
The _Falcon_ arched down towards the planet, skilfully piloted by Han and Chewbacca as Leia sat fidgeting behind them.   
  
"You sure he's still down there?" Han asked her, not watching the view in front, but instead studying the tactical display that showed two huge obviously ssi-ruuvi cruisers shadowing the planet. So far, they hadn't even bothered to acknowledge the _Falcon's_ existence, but Han wasn't about to ignore them.  
  
"Yes, he's there, I'm sure of it." Leia said with the distant voice she always had when using the Force, eyes closed in concentration "But I can't reach him." her voice was a little strained form the effort.   
  
"Well, it's a big planet. You got any idea where we should start looking?" he asked. Turning for the first time to look at Leia, he gave her a rye expression. "Do we just head for the biggest port and work outwards?" he asked.   
  
She opened her eyes. "I'm sorry, Han, I really don't know, but I think he's on this side of the world. I can't do any better than that."  
  
"Okay." he said, turning back "Lets try the biggest port, at least on a planet this backward there aren't many towns to look." The Falcon continued gracefully down to the surface.  
  
  
---  
  
  
  
Luke leaned back against the cool stone of the doorway, waiting.   
  
Waiting, and listening.  
  
The doorway was in the shade, but the sand was too hot to touch. Despite the heat, he was shivering with cold. The doorway was barely wide enough for him to sit in, his legs curled up to fit inside.   
  
It wouldn't be long, he knew, before one group of ssi-ruuk happened to walk down this street and he would be found. There wasn't anything he could do.   
  
Maybe if he had been stronger, if he hadn't been in hospital, he could have fought them all off, but the painful truth was that he exhausted after only a brief firefight. He was shivering and his vision was blurred, and he knew he had left eth hospital too soon.   
  
_Maybe_ if he had stayed in the hospital a few days longer they wouldn't have found him.   
  
_Maybe_ if he'd been able to control the fighter better, he wouldn't have crashed so hard.  
  
_Maybe_ if he'd been more aware he could have stopped Aves being hit and they could have split up.  
  
_Maybe if he closed his eyes it would all just go away. _  
  
No. He knew it wouldn't.   
  
He peered out into the street again: it was still empty.   
  
Maybe if he didn't feel so tired he'd be able to pinpoint where exactly the ssi-ruuk were and pick a street where there weren't any. But then, where would he run?  
  
_maybe maybe maybe maybe. _  
  
No amount of maybe's were going to help him here.   
  
Regretting the past wasn't going to help him here.  
  
What was he going to do? Luke shivered; a cold feeling ran over him and permeated his aching body.   
  
It was already decided, he realised. Fate, destiny, the Force, it didn't matter why or what it was, but it was already decided. He couldn't let himself be taken back to the ssi-ruuk cruiser. Not just for himself, but for everyone else; he had come _that _close to killing his friends, had killed others who were just as innocent as they were. He couldn't let that happen again. The very essence of being a Jedi knight was to protect others, and here, now, protecting them meant protecting them from him.  
  
It wasn't so much his Jedi morals kicking in, as it was a sense of inevitability brought on by his own humanity.   
  
He thoughts went back to Ben on the first death star. Luke knew that his death wouldn't be for quite such a high purpose as Obi-Wan's had been, wouldn't have anything to do with the Force really. Which was strange, in its own way, after having been trained in the Force for over 15 years now, Luke had fully expected that when it came, his death would be either to help preserve the lightside or defeat the darkside. It was surprising to realise his death with be about humanity, not the Force.   
  
Or maybe that was what the Force was about; life and death; lightside and darkside.   
  
He'd never liked the title '_hero_'- what was a hero but a perfect man who killed?   
  
It wasn't an image that stuck on him well.   
  
Maybe no one would even know he'd died here, maybe they'd never even know he'd survived Cassrine. Dying in defence of people who would never even realise you'd died for them was probably the most heroic deed you could do.   
Not that it mattered whether it was heroic or not, whether it was to do with the Force or not, it simply had to be done: there was no trick   
  
Luke had to miraculously escape the ssi-ruuk. He could try, but if they caught him he might never get the chance again to stop them.   
  
He sighed, resigned to do it.   
  
Inevitably, his thoughts went to all the people he wouldn't see again, all the things he'd never do.   
  
But then, he'd done enough.  
  
Now it was just a question of how.   
  
  
---  
  
  
The _Falcon_ settled down smoothly on its repulsor lifts, sending up a plume of sand and grit, which fell slowly back to earth.   
  
"Is he here?" Han asked, swivelling in his seat to face Leia. Her face was tight with concentration. At last she opened her eyes and there was a light there   
  
"He's here." she said, then frowned "But.... I don't know, he's close but he feels...distant." She shook her head, not understanding her own words.   
  
Han didn't either, but he didn't dwell on. "Come on then," he said, brushing past her as he left the small cockpit, "lets find him."  
  
Chewie woofeld softly as Leia got up to follow him. Han was waiting for her at the ramp, checking his blaster.   
  
"You think we'll run into any ssi-ruuk?" he asked her. She shrugged, checking her own blaster,  
  
"I don't know what they feel like in the Force, but I sense this whole town is nervous for some reason." She said moving to stand next to him. "I think we better split up." Her voice sounded distant.   
  
"What? Why?" he asked   
  
"I...I just feel like we haven't got much time." she said.  
  
Han sighed. _Jedi._ "Okay, Chewie, go with Leia, I'll go on my own."   
  
"Han I-"   
  
"No argument, you're not going out there on your own with ssi-ruuk running all over the place."   
  
"Look, I can take care of myself, it'd be quicker it we all went separately," she objected turning a steely gaze on him,  
  
"Yeah, except if you find him and he's injured, how are you going to get him back to the ship huh?"  
  
Leia faltered...."Okay, you win. Now can we hurry?" she said, moving past him and hitting the release switch. Han suppressed a grin and followed her out of the ship.  
  
  
---  
  
  
They were on the horizon, dark spots moving slowly but methodically closer to his position.   
  
His heart pounded. There were only four of them, but even if Luke could get past them, he knew he'd just run into wave after wave of them further up the street and down the alleys. He couldn't take the risk of being caught again. He didn't have a choice.   
  
Was he really going to do this?   
  
_No_, he admonished himself sternly; _you don't need fear or desperation. You only need the Force._ He stretched out, feeling its comforting reliability.   
  
The aliens got closer.   
  
They all held paddle beamers nervously in the outstretched claws. Moving slowly, they walked abreast so that they stretched from wall to wall, blocking off the width of the street. They also had blasters as backup.  
  
Luke stretched out towards the approaching figures. It was hard; he didn't have much leverage, but he managed to silently flick the settings from 'stun' to 'kill'. He bit his lip, easing the tension out of his hands by digging his fingers deep into his palms, waiting for one of them to realise. His luck had been _that_ bad lately.   
  
A voice seemed to sound in his head _'in my experience, there's no such thing as luck' _he smiled. If it wasn't bad luck then he didn't know what it was. Fate? Destiny?  
  
Tentatively, Luke got a hold on each of the paddle beamers with a form grip through the Force. The aliens weren't holding them too tightly that Luke wouldn't be able to pull them free.   
  
A few seconds left.   
  
He thought he felt a flicker in the Force, recognised it but dismissed it: he needed to concentrate.   
  
Taking a deep breath and saying a silent good bye to Leia, he sidestepped out into the open. There was a moment of dizziness as his legs refused to obey orders to stay upright, there was also a moment of perplexity that came from the aliens as hey saw a lone figure suddenly step out uncertainly into the road in front of them. Luke used the moment, yanking the paddle beamers from their hands and throwing them behind him.   
  
The alien's stared at him, fear and growing surprise spreading across their emotions.   
  
It felt like an eternity before one of them reached down to its side. The blaster was in it's hand, and the alien began to move the weapon up for aim. Luke watched it, waiting, keeping his mind deep in the Force.   
  
The blaster came up, achingly slow.   
  
Luke had a moment of uncertainty, but only a moment. The alien had him in its sights. Luke's muscles tensed as it squeezed the trigger. There was a blinding flash-  
  
Searing pain ripped through his shoulder before the sound of the blast hit his ears, exploding through his shocked body like a second hit.  
  
He gasped in pain as he stumbled backwards from the blast. His shoulder burned with a fire that coursed through his veins and his muscles trembled.   
  
He tried to cry out but his voice didn't respond, his eyes flickered open as a voice shouted strange, muddled words in his ears. He was on his back without ever having had the sensation of falling. His vision blurred, the world suddenly full of a sickening mix of dark and light that merged in his vision.   
  
Warmth brushed tentatively at his neck as lightning flashed before his eyes; lights played dizzyingly in front him before his mind fell backwards and away from the trouble of staying conscious.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Han crept down one of the many deserted alleyways -they were too quiet, he'd already decided. It might have been the middle of a hot, sticky day but even so there should have been someone outside. He considered giving Leia a call but then decided against it: if she'd found anything she'd call him. And besides: Chewie was with her.   
  
He kept close to the wall as he approached the end of one ally that seemed to empty out into a wider street. A group of the big lizard-like aliens strode past the entrance to the street, hurriedly he flitted back into the shadows whilst they went past. They walked in a strange formation, lining the street; walking abreast.  
  
He crept forward again and watched them turn a corner into another alley. They seemed to be talking into some sort of comlink. With no better plan, he followed them.   
  
He ran up to the alley entrance, as he reached it he saw them walk into another larger street and turn left.   
  
Not wanting to follow them directly, he looked down his own street; a few meters down there was another ally that he hoped would lead into the same one they had just turned into. Then there was the noise of marching feet behind him. Twisting around, he saw another group of the aliens approaching. Making a quick decision, he headed down the other alley. Blaster held close and tight, he sprinted lightly down the alleyway.   
  
As he cautiously approached the end of the small alley, a figure stepped out into the street ahead of him. Han started, skidding to a stop. The lithe black figure reached the centre of the street and stopped. A flash of blonde hair showed Han he wasn't seeing things:   
  
It was Luke.   
  
Han tried to cry his name but found his throat was suddenly dry. Instead, he sprinted for the end of the alley.   
  
Before he reached the end of it he knew something was wrong, a cold feeling spreading up his back. There was something wrong about the way Luke was just stood there.  
  
A blaster fired, it resounded down the alley even as Han saw Luke stumble backwards and fall over in a heap.   
  
"_Luke_!" he shouted, senses going numb. He forced his legs to respond faster, racing out of the alley, firing wildly at whoever had fired that blaster shot. Two ssi-ruuk fell under his surprise fire; the other two were too stunned to move fast enough to bring their own blasters up.   
  
Han reached Luke's side, knelt, looking for any sign Luke was still aware.   
  
"Luke! Luke!?" memories of Hoth flashed, "Come on buddy..."   
  
He felt Luke's neck for a pulse as he fired blind as the big aliens eventually brought their own blasters up against him.  
  
There was a slow, weak pulse. Luke opened his eyes, blinking. His eyelids flickered and he moaned softly.   
  
"Luke?" Han asked, but he didn't reply. His eyes closed again and he slumped downwards.   
  
Han's anxiety rose a notch as Luke slumped in his arms.   
  
All the aliens lay dead on the floor. Han stood up, getting his hands under Luke's shoulders and dragging the limp Jedi to his feet.   
  
"No you don't." Han spat, "You've died once on me in the past few months, your not doing it to me again. "   
He had Luke cradled in his arms now, blaster held ready as he stared down at the pale face of his friend, hoping to god he wasn't dead. Leia would kill him.  
  
Meaning to get back to the Falcon he ran towards the ally he'd just left. Blood from Luke's burned shoulder ran down his hand; he didn't look at it.   
  
He reached the alleyway, stopped short as a group of aliens appeared there; they must have heard the firefight. He turned to look up the wider street: more aliens appeared on the horizon.   
  
Han swore, looked down the other way. There was a boarded up building there, it looked like it hadn't been opened in years.   
In desperation he ran towards it, kicking at the door to open it. Energy beams splashed off the sides of the building as the ssi-ruuk fired at their escaping prey. The door broke down at last and Han ran in, kicking it shut again with a force that shook the frame. He turned back to face it, slamming the crude bolts across with one hand as he balanced Luke in the other, locking the aliens' out.   
  
Dust sprang up where he ran and it was dark and cold in the huge empty room. He reached the other side, hoping that there'd be a door at the far end.   
  
There wasn't.   
  
He laid Luke down by the far wall, gently, trying to avoid the wound on his shoulder. With Luke laid on the floor, he walked to the wall and put a hand to the cool surface: it was durasteel: his blaster wouldn't touch it. Taking his hand away he turned and peered into the gloom of the building; there were no exits.   
  
There _was_ an ominous quite from outside; they weren't trying to break in, maybe they knew that they had them trapped.   
Returning to Luke's side, Han pulled out his pocket luma, its stark white light bringing no warmth to the room. He laid it down on the floor as he stripped back the charred clothing around Luke's shoulder.   
  
"Ouch." he winced in sympathy, feeling a little helpless: he didn't even have water to wash the wound with.   
  
Thinking hard he ripped a strip of cloth of his shirt, the tearing sound deafening in the choking quiet of the dust filled area. He wrapped it around the wound, over Luke's shoulder and tied it tightly, trying to stop the bleeding, the white of the material was soon crimson and clinging to the skin, he looked around again, thinking frantically.   
  
How could they get out of here? He had no idea.

Chapter 3: Running out of time

  
Leia ran. She could feel time running out fast, almost like it was a palpable thing that was running through her fingers and beyond her reach. Chewie ran beside her, bowcaster at the ready. Something was wrong. She could feel it in the air, in the quietness of the streets.   
Suddenly, her vision exploded. It was like a giant hand shoved her backwards, she lurched and fell to the ground, clutching her shoulder and moaning. Fire coursed through her veins and she felt the intangible feeling of the touch of her brother's mind before it slipped away from her again.   
  
Chewie was by her side, woofling worriedly. She looked up at him, "I'm okay." she whispered, clambering back onto unsteady feet.  
  
A beam of energy hit next to her left leg, she jumped, bringing her blaster up and firing instinctively back. A large ssi-ruuk fell to the street. She shifted her aim, hesitated. At least a dozen ssi-ruuvi paddle beamers were aimed right at her and Chewie.   
  
They were surrounded.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Luke moaned and moved to put a hand up to his burning shoulder. Han heard him and jogged over from where he'd been studying the high, slanted windows, measuring up in is mind whether or not they'd be able to get out through them. He reached Luke,  
  
"Hey, its about time you woke up." he said disarmingly, putting far more humour into it than he felt.  
  
"Yeah." Luke managed to reply, his voice sounding faint but strong. Han took his jacket off and folded it over, placed it under Luke's head. Luke twisted over to look at his shoulder, he pulled up the edge of the blood-soaked bandage "Ouch." he said, seeing the burn underneath.  
  
He lay back heavily onto the floor, rubbing at his temples. Han looked at him anxiously. Well, at least he was awake. That had to count for something.   
  
"What happened? And what the hell are you doing here?" Luke asked. Was that anger in his voice?   
  
"What do you mean _'what am I doing here'_. I'd have thought that was obvious."  
  
"You shouldn't be here." Luke said, making an attempt at shaking his head.   
  
Han didn't argue with him, he was concentrating on the small banging sounds that were coming from the far side of the room. He stared into the darkness but couldn't see anything."What happened?" Luke asked again.   
  
It was Han's turn to shake his head "I don't know. I just arrived as you took a blaster shot. I-" he faltered, his frustration erupting. "Luke, what the hell's been happening to you over the past few months? Leia's been frantic! We thought you were dead, and when we find you, you turn round and ask what we're doing here. What's going on?" Han's voice echoed in the huge room, his frustration bouncing of the walls. Luke's sigh was just a murmur.  
  
"I know, I'm sorry, I- it's good to see you, Han." he said, turning to look into his old friends eyes "It's just that, it would have been better if you'd stayed away. Everything would have been cleared up by now. I'm sorry." he paused "How is she?" he asked.   
  
Han looked down into his friends eyes, "Leia's fine, now she knows your alive, but when we all thought you were dead..." he blew out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding "Don't ever do that to us again pal," he said, mock angrily. He reached down and checked the blaster burn. Luke winced as he touched it. "Your lucky he only hit your shoulder, anywhere else and you'd probably be dead by now." Han said adjusting the bandage again.  
  
"I was counting on them having better aim." he whispered. Han gave him a strange look, wrapping another strip of cloth around the old bandage. Again, it was soon soaked.   
  
"'We bleed just to know were alive.'" Luke quoted as Han leaned back against the cold of the wall.   
  
"Yeah, well, your definitely alive then."  
  
  
---  
  
  
They sat in silence, which was odd; they hadn't seen each other in months, and now they couldn't think of anything to say to each other. Han looked over at Luke; he was laid on the floor still, his eyes closed.   
  
_He looks half dead_ Han thought as studied Luke's pale features.   
  
In the quiet of the building, the beep of his comlink was deafening. They both jumped. Uncertainly, Han took it from his belt. He'd tried to call Leia earlier, but his signal had been jammed. Had she found a way to break through it? Luke was staring intently at him. He shrugged. Well, it wouldn't hurt to answer it.  
  
Han held it up "Yeah?" he asked, tensing though he wasn't sure what there was to be tense about.  
  
A few heartbeats that lasted an eternity passed before an unfamiliar metallic voice answered Han.  
  
"Captain Solo?" it was a droid's voice, but not like threepio. He glared suspiciously at the comlink. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Luke tense at the sound of the droid's voice. Did he know the droid?  
  
"Yeah, who's this?" he asked the droid. It seemed to hesitate before replying.   
  
"I am the representative for Elder Fr'h'tokh of the Ssi-ruuk Imperium." Han glanced over at Luke; his eyes were bugged "We wish to...negotiate." it said.   
  
Already Han didn't like the droid. He covered the receiver. "Luke?" he asked.   
  
Luke seemed dazed and lost in thought. He didn't answer him.  
  
"Go on." Han said into the comlink. They didn't have anything to lose.   
  
"You have something we want, Captain Solo, and, I presume, you want to get out of that building. If we can be amicable about this, we can all get something out of this without anyone having to get hurt." They were threatening him? That wasn't, in Han's experience, the best way to start a negotiation, obviously they were used to getting their own way.  
  
"And what would that something you want be?" he asked, sitting down next to Luke. He looked over at his friend, looked again when he saw Luke's face. He was frowning, looking down at the floor. He almost looked terrified.  
  
"Jedi Skywalker. We understand he is hurt. Give him to us and we will heal him, and you can go free." Han went cold. Well, _that _was blunt.  
  
"And if I don't?" Han said, taking on a similar blunt tone to that which the droid was using. Luke was staring at Han's blaster, his face holding a look that sent a shiver down Han's spine.  
  
The droid seemed to consider that. There was a flurry of strange whistles from the comlink. "That is not an option, Captain Solo. If you insist on being difficult, we will have to use force. I'm sure both of us want to avoid that." Luke was intent on studying the ground, streaks of blonde hair falling in his eyes.  
  
"I think that goes without saying." Han said, thinking fast "Tell me, if I give you Luke, what will you do with him." A tangible cold entered the room.   
  
"Do not concern yourself with that." the droid clipped. Well, he wasn't going to get information out of them that easily then. Better try a different tact:  
  
"He's injured, how will you heal him? You are alien, after all." he said, buying time. He hadn't yet thought of another tact.  
  
"Our technician is well versed in the human anatomy." The droid said simply. Hmm, that was interesting -why would a ssi-ruuk know about human anatomy?   
  
"Captain Solo, we are wasting time, will you give us Skywalker or will we have to come in and get him?"  
  
"You set one scaly foot in here and I'll kill him before you're through the door." Han said, putting his best smuggler voice into action. Luke sighed heavily.  
  
There was another flurry of whistles before he heard the click of a comlink turning off.   
  
Han tensed, his blaster out and pointed at the door, senses alert for the slightest noise of them ready to break through -of course, he didn't know what good it would do, he wasn't, after all, likely to kill Luke and-  
  
"You have to do it, Han," a croaky voice said from beside him.   
  
"What? Do what?" he asked, still looking at the door, not wanting to take his eyes of it.  
  
"Kill me." Luke said, quietly.   
  
This time Han did turn to look at his friend. "What?! Don't be stupid, I'm not going to-" Luke's eyes looked straight at Han's. Luke pushed up from where he'd been laid on the floor, the effort making him wince.   
  
"Han, you have to." he said, his voice full of unchallengeable conviction. Han just stared at his friend, not quiet believing what he was hearing.   
  
"Luke... why?" was all he could think of to say.  
  
Luke shivered and clutched at his shoulder before leaning back against the wall. "Give me your hand." He said.   
  
"Huh?" Han didn't understand, but shifting his blaster to his left hand, he let Luke take his right hand. Luke pulled it to the side of his head and placed the palm of his hand against his skin.   
  
"Do you feel it?" he asked. Han frowned, under his hand he could feel the warmth of Luke's skin, but in one, minutely small patch he could feel the cold, smooth touch of metal. He took his hand away and just stared at Luke.   
  
"What is it?" he asked.   
  
Luke sighed. Shook his head. "Its I.... I can't explain it. It's...an implant. I-" he faltered "Han, I...I can't stop it. And I can't do this anymore. Don't you understand? Corran must have told you, he must have said..." Luke trailed off.   
  
Han looked at him. "Yes. Yes, he did." he said, understanding. "But, your not giving up yet. Its not over, we can get out of here, back to Coruscant and-" his comlink beeped.   
  
Han picked it up again. "I hope your argument is better than last time." he said into the receiver.  
  
"Yes, Captain. I believe we can come to a better agreement now. Give us Skywalker, and you can have your wife."  
  
  
---  
  
  
  
Leia squirmed in the alien's grip, but couldn't get free. She scowled at the alien who held her; it just looked straight ahead, not meeting her eyes. She brought her leg up and slammed it into the ssi-ruuk's thigh. It flinched but if anything its grip got stronger, claws digging into her skin. Disgusted, she stopped her attempts to break free of it. A group of larger blue ssi-ruuk and a protocol droid were off in a corner talking hurriedly, a few times one of them would gesture towards her, the other would shake its head. Obviously, there was some sort of argument about her. Probably it was about what to do with her; when Chewie had been stunned, she'd expected to join him, but after a string of hurried whistles they had grabbed her and brought her here to a deserted street in front of an old warehouse.   
  
Why hadn't they stunned her already? She couldn't guess.   
  
She took her eyes of the arguing aliens to stare around her. The street was as dusty and hot as all the others. There were signs of a fight on the street, the ground was scuffed and here and there were drops of blood. Leia kicked at the street floor where there was a red spot: it was quite fresh. She sighed, trying to relax and let the Force flow.   
  
Luke's presence was nearby; if it didn't feel so weak she would have sworn he was very close. The droid was talking into a comlink now, but they were just out of her hearing. She sighed, resigned to wait for the conclusion of their argument.  
  
  
---  
  
  
"What?" Han said, shifting uncomfortably, hoping it was a trick.   
  
"Leia Organa Solo- your wife. Hand over Skywalker and she'll be returned to you," the droid said passively  
  
"If you've harmed her-" he started.  
  
"She is unharmed. For now."  
  
"I'm sorry. I don't believe you. I don't suppose you have any proof?" Han said. He bit his lip, looked over to look a Luke. Luke was concentrating hard. Han covered the receiver before whispering "Is it her?" He nodded,  
  
"Yeah, and she's fine. Chewie's been hurt but she doesn't know where he is. She's outside," he said, looking like he was staring right through the big metal door at her. He looked back at Han "What now?" he said quietly.   
  
"I don't know." He answered honestly.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Luke lay back on the floor, feeling more tired than he had in ages. He closed his eyes, letting the cool dark permeate his aching body.   
  
He shoulder was burning; his mind couldn't even begin to concentrate on thinking of a way out of this. All he wanted to do was fall back into a deep sleep. He could feel Han's gaze on him, feel his concern radiating out him. If only Han hadn't arrived, he would have been dead by now, it would all have been okay- but, now, he didn't know what was going to happen. His mind shied away from thinking about what would happen if he went back to the ssi-ruuk. If they had Leia, there was nothing else they could do but go outside. Another wave of nausea brushed over him. Maybe they wouldn't be able to heal him anyway. He doubted they had much knowledge of human medicine.  
  
"Luke?"  
  
"I don't know, Han." He said to his friend's unspoken question. With a struggle, he opened his eyes, waited for the room to stop   
spinning before he spoke again "Do you?"  
  
Han shook his head and studied Luke's face. "No, but we cant stay in here much longer." He didn't say it but Luke heard it anyway: he was fading in and out of semi-consciousness, was having to really struggle to stay awake.   
  
He didn't think he could keep his eyes open much longer. "Maybe that's best." he replied.  
  
"Damn it Luke, would you stop talking like that? We're all going to get out of here - alive." There was a definite hint of anger in his voice.   
  
Luke didn't answer. His eyes were closing again, he fought it but couldn't keep them open. His head felt light, the room began to spin, and Luke kept his eyes shut and willed it to stop.  
  
"Luke?" Han's worried voice came through his haze.   
  
"I'm fine." Even to him, his voice sounded croaky.   
  
He gave himself a few more minutes to regain control before reopening his eyes. "Come on." He said, "If were going out there, we might as well do it while I'm still awake." He smiled weakly.  
  
"You have a plan?" Han asked, sounding unsure.  
  
"No, but that never stopped us before."   
  
"Right." Han held the comlink back up, "You there?" he said into it, checking his blaster with his right hand.  
  
  
  
---  
  
  
Leia had tried not to tense as Luke's questioning presence reached out to her. The touch had felt odd; he was tired and it hadn't lasted long before he'd gone again. But she knew why they were outside this warehouse now, and could have a fair guess at what was happening when the group of larger ssi-ruuk approached her. They whistled to each other as they approached, obviously still arguing. The largest ssi-ruuk gestured to the guard holding Leia and they moved forward to the entrance of the warehouse. A smaller brown ssi-ruuk was saying something insistently to the larger ones, she wished she had brought the translator with her. Of to the side, a comlink beeped, the golden protocol droid answered it, out of range of Leia's hearing. The droid flicked it back of and walked back up the group, whistling to it's masters. Leia would have sworn a sly grin crossed the expressionless faces. All eyes turned to the warehouse entrance.   
  
  
---  
  
  
Han pulled Luke to his feet, slinging one arm around his waist in an attempt to keep him stable, whilst holding this blaster in the other. Luke got his feet under him, was almost able to stand on his own. "Are you sure about this?" Han asked as the stood staring at the entrance. Luke gave him a rye smile   
  
"No, are you?" he said.  
  
"No. When we get out there, we might as well try and fight it out. Can you tell how many are out there?" Han said, checking his blaster again.   
  
Luke's eyes closed in concentration. After a moment he opened them again. "I'm sorry. I...I can't tell. A few. More than a few. I don't know" He shook his head, the movement making his headache blaze.   
  
"Well, never mind. " Han said, staring again at Luke's face. It wasn't the best plan, to just go outside and hope there weren't many out there, but if it was a choice between that and Luke dying then, well, then there really wasn't a choice. And besides, Leia was involved now too...  
  
"Ready?" he asked.   
  
Luke waited just a moment before answering. "Sure. Lets go."   
  
Han walked slowly to the door, balancing Luke all the way. As quietly as possible, he undid the bolts and got a hold on the handle. He looked at Luke, got a nod in response and pulled the door open.  
  
The sunlight, in contrast to the dark warehouse, was blinding, Luke put his hand up in front of his eyes, saw Han resist the urge. They moved forward a couple of steps, Han making sure Luke didn't stumble. When his eyes readjusted to the light, Luke looked up from the floor and into the eyes of at least 30 ssi-ruuk. Nearly all had paddle beamers pointed at them.   
  
That was that then, he thought, there was no way they could fight off 30 of them. Luke shivered at the thought of the entechment bay but kept on walking. Leia, held by the tight grip of a ssi-ruuk guard shouted his name. He looked up, saw her concerned gaze instinctively drawn to the cloth wrapped over his shoulder. They had reached the centre of the group now. Luke swallowed hard, Han turned to the droid that waited for them.   
  
"A wise decision, Captain," it was saying, but Luke wasn't listening, couldn't bring himself to listen. And besides, the world had suddenly begun to spin and he needed to concentrate on standing up-  
  
_Luke!_ Leia's thought burst into his mind,   
  
Han's conversation rattled around his head as he tried to form a message to send back. The best he could manage was a reassuring look in her direction. Probably the look hadn't been as reassuring as he'd meant.  
  
_Luke, if I could just get free of this alien, we might have a chance_ her mental voice was telling him not to give up hope.   
  
_How?_ Was all he could manage in reply.   
  
_Help me distract it_ Luke looked up into her eyes. She was serious. For a moment Luke thought about refusing, but a look on the biggest blue alien's face told him none of them were going to get out of here free if they didn't. Luke closed his eyes against the brightness, swaying slightly against Han's side. He found the familiar touch of Leia's mind _Try this_ he said,  
  
One of the other ssi-ruuk behind Leia's guard was not paying a lot of attention, it held its paddle beamer loosely. Guiding her, Luke helped Leia brush against its mind.  
_  
It was hot. It didn't like deserts and furthermore couldn't see the point of all of them being here. It wasn't like they could escape. _

They held its mind more strongly now, the action bringing back memories of entechment he hid from Leia. They sent a simple thought into it's mind. 'Talk' before retreating back out of its' head.   
  
Suddenly, above the sound of Han and the droid's conversation, the ssi-ruuk started honking and whistling loudly. Leia didn't have a clue what it was saying, but as soon as it started, she was moving. Her guard's grip slackened in confusion at the sudden outburst,   
Leia twisted and dived under its grip, up and moving before it had a chance to grab her. It stumbled forward, trying to grab at the fleeing Leia. Sharp claws raked across her skin but she kept moving, dodging the arm of a nearby ssi-ruuk and yanking the paddle beamer out of the still shouting ssi-ruuk. She swung around and fired. The guard, 2 steps behind her, ran right into her beam and crumpled to the floor.  
  
Luke's mind snapped free of Leia and he felt himself falling. His legs gave out from under him and he hit the floor hard.  
The ssi-ruuk were fast, but Han was faster, as Luke started to fall, one of the aliens started screaming. Han dived under one of the guard's beam, and crouched protectively over Luke, firing into the confused aliens. Leia emerged from the crowd, a paddle beamer in her hand and a dozen aliens chasing. Han fired, the front one fell, blocking the path to Leia. She twisted backwards and fired again, sweeping the beam across her crowd of followers.   
  
Around them, ssi-ruuk fell, but didn't fire back. They didn't want to hit Luke, she realised.  
  
Han shouted to her. "Leia, get the blue ones!!" she nodded, searching for the glint of the droid, but they had disappeared into the boiling mass of angry ssi-ruuk. Han saw a big alien bearing down on Leia, she started to turn but wouldn't make it as she stopped to hit another throwing itself at her.  
  
Han dived forward, rolling and coming to stop in front of the big alien, blasting it. Leia twisted in shock, having just a bare few seconds to realise their mistake. Han's move had left Luke crouched on the floor, a few meters from them. It might as well have been light-year; the ssi-ruuk had a clear shot at Han without hitting Luke.  
  
"Han!" she shouted in anguish as the beam cut through his midsection. A look of shock and realisation passed over his face as he slid to the ground. "No!!" she screamed, sprinting for her husband, but the way was already blocked by ssi-ruuk.   
  
Instead, she made for Luke. He was clutching at his shoulder now, kneeling in the sand, staring at the ground. Peripherally, she caught a sick, dizzy feeling from him as the world around him darkened.   
  
She dived for him and the beams stopped coming. "Luke!" she shouted, hoping for a reaction, but he didn't hear her. She swept the beam across the approaching aliens, but with Han down, now there was only one of them fighting twenty-something aliens, and she couldn't cover all sides.   
  
Ssi-ruuk enclosed her, a vicious kick to her back sent her beamer flying as she sprawled on the floor, gasping for breath.   
  
A clawed hand grabbed at her clothes dragging her to her feet. _Luke!!!_ She sent in desperation, but his mind was quite. Clawed hands wrapped around her now. She couldn't move.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Out of the crowd, a small brown ssi-ruuk scuttled forward and, as best it could, bent over Luke. The action made her feel sick, she struggled to break free and run to Luke.   
  
A sharp jab to the aliens knee and she sprawled forward, landing next to Luke. She clasped his face in her hands, looking for a sign he was still awake, knowing the ssi-ruuk she had just hit would be back in a second.   
  
Luke's face was cold and pale. Her eyes moved to the burn on his shoulder, still bleeding heavily. The short ssi-ruuk stared at her in surprise as she knelt beside Luke. It had produced a hypospray and now bent to place it to his neck. Protective instincts firing, she jabbed hard at the aliens side, it tottered away from Luke as a pair of claws hauled her back and away, this time the grip was harder   
and claws dug welts in her arms.   
  
The brown alien regained its balance and bent back with the hypospray, somehow knowing the spray meant something important, she screamed abuse at the alien trying furiously to get near her brother. A hand clamped across her mouth and dragged her kicking away.  
  
  
---  
  
  
The Admiral approached Swh'hr'ring when he was sure the President was secured. He bent over the Jedi, turned back to the technician. "Well?" he whistled. Swh'hr'ring was still shaken from the Jedi's sister's attack. He looked at his Admiral, trying to form words. The Admiral sneered at him "You should have waited until she was recaptured." he said.   
  
"Ah, yes sir. I..." Swh'hr'ring tried to reassert himself "He needs immediate aide, I'm not sure how bad the shoulder wound is, and I don't want to remove the bandage while we're here, it might become infected." he managed, still shaking a little.   
  
"What was in that hypospray?" the Admiral asked, pulling out his comlink to signal their shuttle to land.  
  
"Something to try and minimise the damage to the implant. I'm hoping to be able to salvage without having to take it out and start again: that would take too long. I should be able to have it working again in just a few days" The Admiral nodded.   
  
Fr'h'tokh approached and faced the Admiral "They put up quite a fight." he said, looking over at the unconscious form of Solo.   
  
"No more than was to be expected." The Admiral said, before turning to his comlink. Fr'h'tokh and Swh'hr'ring exchanged worried looks.   
Things certainly could have gone smoother. Leia's screaming abuse could still be heard in the distance. "Swh'hr'ring, do you have a sedative for the woman?" he asked, annoyed at the racket.   
  
"Yes, sir." he said, digging into his pack.  
  
The Admiral turned around sharply. "No. I want her awake for the moment, I'm not yet sure what to do with her." He said, beginning to order the troops into a formal marching order to go to their transport. "But, sir." Fr'h'tokh said, hurrying to the Admiral's side, "She is quite dangerous, we should leave her behind." He protested.   
  
The Admiral stopped and looked at him sternly and with contempt. "She is President of the Republic we are attacking. She may come in useful if we ever need to negotiate. And, if Swh'hr'ring is unable to heal Skywalker with the knowledge he has, it may be necessary to have another human to study." he clipped. "Either way, she's coming with us." He added as Swh'hr'ring moved up beside them, shaking his head.   
  
"Sir, Skywalker isn't responding to any of the treatments." He said. The Admiral continued to walk. "We need to get back quick if I am going to keep him alive." the Admiral considered him for a moment, and then nodded. The group was arranged into a walking order now. A short ssi-ruuk picked up the limp form of Skywalker and walked briskly to the front as they headed to their shuttle.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Leia held her head bowed, as if in defeat. The heat was oppressive, she hadn't realised how hot it was here whilst she and Chewie had been dashing madly round the small port. She had been too focused on finding Luke to take in anything else going on around her.   
  
Now, though, as the procession trudged slowly through the dusty, arid streets she had time to think about a lot of things.   
  
She had the time to acknowledge that her mouth was parched and her palms sweaty. She twisted her wrists in the restraints that held her hands behind her back. The hot metal burned uncomfortably into her skin. She tried to get the restraints to slip down her hands a bit further, they moved a little and started to burn into a new part of her wrists. She stared down at the ground, trying to keep her face out of the bright glare of the sun. Strands of long brown hair fell out of her plaits and clung to her face. The ground really wasn't very interesting, dust sprang up with every step they took, they had been walking for a while now, but they didn't seem to be getting very far.   
  
Maybe it was because all the streets looked the same. And they were all deserted. She was surprised they were going so slow really, Luke needed medical aid, surely they knew that. But then, they were alien after all.   
  
She looked up from the ground. Up ahead, beyond her guard of ssi-ruuk, she could just see the front of their line. She knew that somewhere up there one of them was carrying Luke, but she couldn't make out which one, but she could see the glint of metal in sunlight that could only be their protocol droid. Luke's mind buzzed lightly around the edges of her own. One her guards noticed her staring, with a gesture of its paddle beamer it warned her to stop. Disgusted, she turned back to study her surroundings again. Adopting a defeated look again, her mind worked at a way out of this. What she really needed to do if she was going to accomplish anything was to get close to Luke. A mad dash for freedom wasn't going to help either of them and, if nothing else, she might be able to talk to the leader if she was close to the front of the line. Besides, she felt she needed to be near Luke, she didn't know what good it would do, but she had to try. She tried reaching out to him but he didn't respond. She sighed. Why was it that nothing ever went right? She should be glad that he was alive and close to her, but the few meters felt like light years. In the distance a small ship lowered itself smoothly to the ground. Leia watched it settle, the reflected sunlight momentarily blinding as the ssi-ruuk fanned out around the entrance ramp. The front group- including the two larger, slightly blue coloured ssi-ruuk, stopped in front of the ramp and waited for her to reach them, Leia could just see a smaller ssi-ruuk disappear into the ship, carrying Luke. She caught a glimpse of his face, it was a ghastly white colour, but she could still feel the touch of his mind on hers.   
  
Her group stopped and Leia turned a steely gaze on her captors. The protocol droid steeped forward and spoke.  
  
"President Organa Solo, it has been decided that you will accompany your brother to our fleet." Out of the background a large ssi-ruuk stepped forward, paddle beamer in its hand. Leia tensed. "For safe transit, we feel it would be better for all of us if you did so unconscious." The alien brought the beamer up.   
  
"Wait a minute." Leia thought fast "You haven't thought this through, maybe I can help you/"  
  
The droid turned a quizzical look on her "How?" it asked simply.   
  
Leia shifted her feet into a firm stance "I can help Luke. You obviously want him alive. I can help you." The droid stared at her a moment before turning to translate for it's masters. They whistled quietly to each other for a moment before the droid turned back to her. She could tell they didn't like the idea of having her next to Luke, but one of the smaller brown ssi-ruuk's was obviously on her side. Was he the medic?   
  
"Very well, though any deviation will be suitably punished." She didn't like the tone of the droids voice, it sent a small shiver down her spine, but she nodded.  
  
Leia climbed the steep ramp, the metal slippery with a layer of loose sand. She grabbed at the side of the ship, pulled her hand back when the metal burned her. A ssi-ruuk behind her shoved her roughly into the dark, dank shuttle. The ceiling was barely higher than the ssi-ruuk, and they took up all available space. A firm hand on her shoulder guided her towards the front to the only bunk on the small ship. Where Luke lay.   
  
She knelt down by his side and touched his forehead; it was still cold. She turned around as the small brown ssi-ruuk she'd seen earlier stood uneasily next to her. It tensed as she moved suddenly to stand up. From the back, there was the sound of the shuttle door closing. Twenty-some ssi-ruuk honked and whistled quietly to each other.   
  
She brandished her binders at the small alien, shouting above the combined whine of repulsor lifts and ssi-ruuk "I can't help him if you don't let me free." she stared at it, emphasising her point. One of the larger blue aliens moved next to her. It whistled to the droid, which moved in to undo her hands. The airless shuttle jolted slightly as it lifted off. The droid clasped her hands in front of her and put the binders back on.  
  
She sighed, _typical._   
  
At least she had some free movement of her hands. The blue alien whistled to the crowd of ssi-ruuk. Two stepped forward and glared at Leia, obviously meant to be guards.   
  
Leia ignored them and turned back to her brother. The smaller ssi-ruuk was bent down beside him, using a hand-held med scanner to try and find the extent of the wound. She turned back to the droid standing over them "Ask him if I can help" she said to it. Hesitantly, it obeyed. The ssi-ruuk glared, but moved out the way to let Leia in.   
  
She crouched down to the deck, the metal grating of the floor biting uncomfortably into her knees. Luke was strapped firmly to the bunk, whether for his or their safety she wasn't sure. A dim light lit the alcove. She brushed a strand of blonde hair out of his eyes, felt cold sweat on his brow. Ssi-ruuk honked softly behind her. She took his hand, clasping it in both of hers. Ignoring the acceleration and noises of the shuttle, she stretched out to the Force. Luke's mind buzzed just below consciousness. Leia clung to his sense as he drifted.   
  
She could feel a burning in his shoulder, knew the blaster wound must ache. Not opening her eyes, she reached over and felt the injured patch. She'd had a blaster wound before, on Endor, but this felt different, the skin was more torn and he was bleeding too much, probably the blaster's were old, or were set on the highest setting. She traced the outline of the burn, wincing at the charred flesh.   
  
As she traced it, she felt the pain subside. Leia didn't know how to heal through the Force, she really only knew a few pain suppression tricks, but she needed to get Luke into a healing trance. She felt for his presence again and found it. She tried to begin the trance, hoping Luke would follow her lead.   
  
Heartbeat: Steady.   
  
Breathing: Deep but slow.   
  
She tried to get every aspect right before moving away from him. She opened her eyes as he sank into the trance. Rocking back on her heals, she stared at his face for what seemed like forever. A clawed hand touched her shoulder and moved her away into the grip of one of her guards. The smaller ssi-ruuk bent down and studied the reading on his med sensor.   
  
"He's in a Jedi healing trance." She said, hoping it would be explanation enough. The ssi-ruuk eyed her suspiciously before moving to the front of the shuttle to talk with the blue ssi-ruuk, she twisted slowly out of the guards grip and knelt back by Luke's side, staying there for the whole journey back.

Onwards to Episode 5.

Teaser Excerpt.

"President, your brother is below decks. He is alive. Do you know why we wanted him here?" he asked, searching eyes looking her up and down.  
  
"I have an idea." she replied, matching his stare and his tone.  
  
"Really? What do you know? Do you know that this has been planned for a very long time? That he's here for the same reason we were interested in him some 14 years ago over Bakura?"  
  
Leia didn't say anything.   
  
"Do you know that he has an implant right about...here." he moved uncomfortably close to her and tapped lightly on the back of her head. His voice lowered as he leaned in closer, "Do you know that we can control his every action? That he is just a shell now?" His voice was a harsh, grating whisper as his breath brushed her cheek "President, do you know just how many people your brother has killed in the last month?"   
  
Her eyes bugged but she couldn't think of anything to say. He moved back away from her, but his presence still hung close like a wet blanket.   
  
"What have you done?" she said at last, unable to keep her voice neutral anymore.   
  
"Only what needed to be done. Tell me, do you still want to save him?"  
  
"He won't help you, you know, you can't make him."  
  
"Cant we? We already have." His voice was laced with pleasure,   
  
"Except that he got away from you once." Leia challenged,   
  
"Once, yes. It was a mistake. Don't worry, it won't happen again. For one thing, we have you now." he said.  
  
"That won't make any difference to him. It doesn't matter what you do, he will still resist you." she said.   
"You don't sound too sure, President." he smiled "I think you ought to know that any actions by you to either escape or sabotage, wont just affect how _you_ are treated. I hope that is understood."   
  
"Perfectly." Leia said, biting back a vicious comment. She didn't trust this alien's temper.  
  
"If you comply, you will be repaid." She said nothing. "He'll be awake in a few hours. You can see him, and then, perhaps, you will have to decide where your true loyalties lie."  
  
"I can't tell you I'll help you." She said as the p'w'ecks moved back into a guard position around her.  
  
"It wouldn't be _me _you were helping. We can do this with or without your help, understand that. This affects your brother only."  
  
"And the New Republic."  
  
"Yes. That decisions is yours alone. Make the right one." 


	5. Episode Five

Disclaimer -Same old thing applies- if I owned these characters you think I would be sat around writing fanfiction? Im just borrowing them, and if Im lucky Lucas will never know they were gone...  
  
I'm considering one long file of all chapters, just for the sake of it. Email me if you think its a good idea. Ta.  
  
My traditional thanks spot is lacking someone to thank...so, uh. Thanks to the Matrix - can you spot the hidden reference???  
  
Mina - [vikki18@totalise.co.uk][1]

**Abhoration and the Alternative**

  
**Episode 5**

  
Chapter one: Back to the start  
  
Han woke groggily, feeling sand and dirt pressed against his face. He coughed stale air out of his lungs and sucked in scorched desert air. A turn of his head and there was a weird roaring noise in his ears. He moved to look, but was blinded by the sun. Rolling away from the light, he threw his hand up, groaning at the aches the movement produced. A huge wookie face bent over him and filled his vision, growling softly. Han sighed, relieved.   
  
"All right Chewie, I'm awake." He said, rubbing at his eyes and pulling up to a sitting position. His partner held out a shaggy paw, Han clasped it and allowed himself to be dragged upright. This heat probably didn't help his dissyness any. Finally getting his vision back, he looked around the street, whistling with awe. At least eight ssi-ruuk bodies were strewn across the street most of them appearing to stare desperately at the sky with unseeing eyes. He put a hand to his head, felt a tender spot where he must have fallen and he winced as he touched it gingerly. He looked up and down the street; there was no one there but he and Chewie.   
  
A hurried search of the bodies confirmed what his heart was already telling him; Leia wasn't here.  
  
He turned to his partner, his face blocking out the sun that was beginning to fall behind the houses. "How long have I been asleep?" he asked. Chewie howled; he didn't know; he'd only just woken himself.   
  
"I'm sure it wasn't that late when we got here was it? No. So they must have been gone for at least a few hours now. " He said, feeling rather than knowing that it was too late.   
  
His last memory stuck in his mind: Leia's horrified face as he slumped to the ground. After he'd gone down they must have got her too. Except she wasn't here, which meant they'd taken her with them.   
  
Great. Just great.   
  
Chewie said something "What?" Han asked not really listening. Patiently, Chewie repeated himself. "Yeah, I found Luke." he kicked at the sand "Unfortunately the ssi-ruuk found us too." he looked up at Chewie "and you too, by the looks of it." He said. Chewie howled mournfully. "Yeah, they're long gone. Those weird paddle beamers really knock you out." He said as he rubbed his aching neck.   
  
He sat down heavily into the sand street and played it through his fingers. "I think we made things worse Chewie." he said, irony touching his voice. Chewie woofeld softly before sitting back down on the empty street. Han laughed bitterly, rubbing at his face to try and get rid of his sleep.   
  
What were they gong to do now? The ssi-ruuk were long gone, along with Luke and Leia. He didn't know where to begin to look. They could be anywhere. Still, he had their ship on the Falcon's sensors, they might be able to trace the drive trails...except they'd probably be cold by now. Chewie interrupted his thoughts. "Coruscant. Yeah, I was thinking that too. If the senate doesn't react to thiswell, then..." he trailed off "They have to react, don't they?" He looked over at his friend and partner.  
  
Chewie howled softly again "Yeah, you're probably right. They-" he cut of at a noise down the street. Han grabbed instinctively at his thigh for the blaster that wasn't there. A dark figure stumbled into the street and put a hand up to shade his eyes. From his stumbling walk and the hand rubbing wearily at his eyes, Han decided he didn't think the figure was much of a threat. He jogged up to the figure, who waited for him to reach him. Han stopped in shock as he recognised the man "Aves?" he said, not quite believing his eyes.  
  
"Yeah, Solo." he looked around the street. "What the hell happened here?"   
  
Han laughed but there as no humour in his voice. "We lost, that's what happened." He said.  
  
  
---  
  
  
The shuttle settled down to the docking bay floor with only the slightest whisper of repulsorlifts. Swh'hr'ring moved away from the bunk as a large guard stepped in to haul Skywalker up. Fr'h'tokh came up beside the guard and nodded at Swh'hr'ring, before turning to another ssi-ruuk, "Take the woman to the holding deck, keep a guard on her at all times." he said. The guard bowed and took the woman away. Swh'hr'ring turned to the Elder,   
  
"Skywalker should be taken to my laboratory. We don't have the equipment I need in the medical bay." he said, gathering his things into a bag and trudging toward the ramp. The clean, recycled air of the docking bay was a welcome change to the hot, sticky atmosphere of Sele4. He caught up with the guard carrying Skywalker. Fr'h'tokh came up beside him.   
  
"How long will it take you to repair the chip?" he asked as they strode towards the entechment bay.   
  
"The chip wont take that long to repair, I think the damage was minimal. I'll have to see how bad that burn is first though; if it means long term treatment, well, then the chip will have to wait, and if that happens, I may have to replace it." he admitted.  
Fr'h'tokh frowned. "How long will that take?" he asked. They were in the entechment bay now. The guard set Skywalker down on one of the tables. Swh'hr'ring moved to search for a better scanner.   
  
"For the implant replacement: at least two weeks. Then we'll have too test it, of course. Three weeks, minimum. Plus the time to heal that burn." As he moved the scanner over Skywalker's shoulder he carefully pealed back the bandage.  
  
"That's far too long." Fr'h'tokh said.   
  
"I know."  
  
He stopped and turned back to his Elder. "Give me an hour to find out how bad it is. Then we can decide what to do." He said. Fr'h'tokh paused, thinking, before turning and leaving the bay silently. Swh'hr'ring sighed to himself before turning back to Skywalker.  
  
  
---  
  
  
  
Leia huddled against the far wall. She'd been in worse cells, but at least they usually had furniture. The ssi-ruuk didn't seem to believe in chairs, or beds for that matter. It was hot in here too, the cool metal welcome but not very comfortable. When they'd got off the shuttle, she'd hoped she'd go with Luke, but they'd taken her off first, and to here. She had a feeling she was as far from Luke as they could manage. She shifted on the hard floor, couldn't get any more comfortable. They didn't seem ready to talk, so she should probably get some sleep while she had the chance. She lay out on the floor, head laid on one arm and waited for sleep to come.  
  
  
---  
  
  
  
The Falcon blew up a plume of sand as Han teased on the repulsors and lifted above the buildings. His hands moved across the board and the ship turned and climbed for space. The stars appeared above the atmosphere as the Falcon moved away form the surface. There were none of the big, ovoid ships hanging above the planet, as there had been when they'd arrived. Han ran a quick sensor scan for drive trails, just in case they hadn't left all that long ago. But there was nothing, except the 'hot' debree of their sublight drives, but it wasn't directional, so there was no way Han could trace it.   
  
Aves stepped into the cockpit, itching uncomfortably at the synthflesh on his forehead. "Anything?" he asked as he sat back behind Han. Han winced a little: it was Leia's seat   
  
"Nothing. Not that we can use, anyway. They're long gone." he pulled the hyperspace levers and the starlines spun. "We'll have to go back to Coruscant, see if we can rally them a little."   
  
"That shouldn't be a problem, considering they've got the Chief of State kidnapped."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"You don't sound convinced." Aves said.  
  
"NoI just...well, I guess I just don't trust the imperials we've let into the senate. But they can't stand down on something like this. I hope." Han said, looking back over his shoulder at Aves.  
  
"Hardly 'let in', they were qualified, and most had no part in the empire. Their just bureaucrats." Aves argued.  
  
"Then I guess I don't trust bureaucrats." Han countered.  
  
You're married to one." Aves pointed out.  
  
"Yeah. The exception that proves the rule I guess." Aves laughed softly.   
  
Han saw a figure move past the cockpit door: one of Ave's men. They'd picked them up before leaving. Aves caught him looking.  
  
"Look, Solo, thanks for getting us of that planet. I thought we'd never see a hyperspace capable ship again." His voice was only just humorous.   
  
"No problem, think of it as payment for helping Luke out."   
  
"No way, you can put that 'payment' into my account." he smiled,  
  
"Yeah, I bet."  
  
  
---  
  
  
Leia huddled against the wall, eyes open and staring into the dark of the room. She shifted, turning on the cold floor, wishing not for the first time for her nice warm bed. She'd been in here hours now. Were they just going to leave her here? There were a lot easier ways to kill someone. She'd tried shouting and banging on the thick metal door, but had got no response, though she was almost certain there was a guard on the door. She rubbed at her eyes and sat up, feet pulled up to her middle as she fought the growing anxiety. She had no idea how Luke was. The delay made her worry. There was a reason they weren't taking any notice of her, and that reason was probably Luke.   
  
She stared into the dark again; she didn't like this room. The ceiling was abnormally high. It made her feel very small and alone. She was glad she couldn't see it. She leaned back against the wall and waited for them to do something.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Swh'hr'ring moved to stare out the viewport of the bridge ready room as the Elder fumed in silence. Swh'hr'ring waited for the tirade of complaints to come, but they didn't.  
  
"There's no alternative?" Fr'h'tokh asked quietly. Swh'hr'ring moved away from the window and answered, "I'm afraid not. The burn is more extensive than it looks. The blaster setting must have been very high. Higher than any of the guards were supposed to be carrying." He paused, could see the Elder's annoyance at this: the lieutenant in charge of those men was going to get a very stern reprimand.   
  
"It needed immediate treatment, I've done what I can, we'll have to let the bacta tank do the rest but...I didn't have time to fix the chip, and the delay will make any minimal damage more serious. If I could have fixed it now...then we might have been able to cut it down to a day or two, but that operation would take at least a day, and at least a week of recovery now that we've had to wait. And Skywalker's injuries needed this treatment, that will last for at least a few days." he said. Fr'h'tokh frowned.   
  
"We cant delay this long. We'll have to go on without him, the Admiral wants us battle ready in two days. It's a shame that the chip cant fixed, but the recovery time is far too long. If it can't be used for that long." He said  
"It's not that it cant be used...its just that-" he broke off.   
  
Fr'h'tokh stared down at him "What?"  
  
"It's not that the chip can't be used straightaway. It would work. It's just that the body needs to recuperate from the surgery." He said, thinking hard.   
  
Fr'h'tokh stared at him again "So?"  
  
"So, we might be able to use the bacta tank for both purposes. If I perform the surgery, and we put him into the bacta, we should be able to use the chip almost immediately...the bacta will help, you see. It will heal the body." he turned away "and...and, we'll be able to use it more often, the bacta will help prevent some of the affects of the chip that meant we had to stop every so often to let him recover. The injuries of the burn need long-term treatment, but nothing that means he can't be conscious...." he trailed off.   
  
Fr'h'tokh whistled quietly "Can it be done?" he asked.  
  
"Yes...yes. If I take him out the tank now, perform the operation, we'll need to adapt the bacta tank so that he can remain conscious, and of course put the entechment circuitry in."   
  
He was already halfway to the door.   
  
"Do it. I'll inform the admiral. But you'll only have 2 days, at most." Fr'h'tokh said as the younger, very excited ssi-ruuk left the room.  
  
  
---  
  
  
  
Han blew out a heavy sigh as the senate doors close quietly behind him. He tried to blow out his anger too, but couldn't. He stalked towards the turbolift, glaring at anyone who stopped to look at him. He should have known the senate would be difficult. They were nothing if they weren't predictable. Han could only hope that they saw sense and didn't get bogged down in the bureaucracy like they usually did. He guessed having to go in there and explain why Leia had taken of so suddenly hadn't helped his case, but, hopefully, they should see sense. And there were some in there at least Leia would trust. Gaviscom, Ackbar, among others, should vote for action. But...there was also Senator Borak in there too. Han didn't think that he had any part in what his brother was doing but he didn't like to count on anything anymore.   
  
The turbolift doors swooshed shut and it started moving. Han paced uneasily. He wanted to be doing something, but he had to wait for the senate. He couldn't do anything before he knew what the senate was doing. And besides: what could he do? The information they really needed was where the ssi-ruuk were now, where they would attack next, but that was just one piece of the puzzle they didn't have.   
Yet.   
  
The lift stopped, Han was out of the doors before they were open, pushing past a crowd waiting to get in. Now he had to go back to their suite and find something to occupy his time. He'd tried explaining it to the kids: they were old enough now to understand, but Han still had thoughts about sending them away with Winter if things got any worse here, and especially now they were one parent down.   
  
But... he wouldn't send them away yet. Not until he had something to go after.  
  
  
---  
  
  
  
A blinding light made Leia throw an arm up to cover her eyes, she squinted as a large form blocked out the bright corridor behind the door. Four smaller shapes appeared silhouetted at its side. Leia used the wall to lever herself up to her feet. She brought her arm down as her eyes adjusted to the light. She blinked several times before they stopped watering. The alien stepped into the room and seemed to blend into the shadows. The smaller aliens brandished paddle beamers towards her. The alien gestured with a claw towards the door. There was no translator but Leia didn't need one to understand that gesture: they were going for a walk.   
  
She pushed gently away from the wall, getting used to using her legs again, and walked towards the door. She climbed the short ramp out and into the lit corridor. The p'w'ecks arranged themselves into a guard around her and the larger alien set off down the corridor.   
  
Leia studied her guard, they were small, but they looked tough, still she might be able to escape if she was run for it. They didn't look very fast.   
  
Except that she had no idea where on the ship she was, and she would probably only run into another group of the aliens. They walked in silence for a long time, sometimes using larger turbolifts, always going upwards. To the bridge, then? Maybe. The reached a large, blastproof door. The aliens moved around her again, two in front, two behind now, as the door opened. Leia stepped through the door.   
She had been right: this had to be the bridge. It was strikingly similar to the one on board the cruiser they captured at Bakura. Only, that one she'd only seeing the dark. In the light it seemed bigger, aliens arranged at consoles in front of a large view screen. The p'w'ecks directed her to a small room at the back of the bridge and Leia stepped through. The door shut behind her, blocking out he noises of the bridge behind her.  
  
The large blue alien she recognised from Sele4 stood staring out of the viewport. It turned as she entered, piercing stare running her up and down as she approached. The gold protocol droid stepped out of the shadows and stood behind its master.  
  
  
---  
  
  
  
Fr'h'tokh watched the woman approach him and stare him right back. Here was a dilemma. He didn't like having her on board his ship, and the Admiral had refused to take her on his. He understood the benefits of having the leader of their enemies, but they had been managing perfectly well without this advantage before, and he didn't trust her. He had kept her below decks for over 2 days now, and something had to be done with her. Swh'hr'ring had nearly completed adjusting the bacta tank now, and the chip had been repaired. It wouldn't be long now before they went into battle again and he didn't want to have to be worrying about what this human was up to. The Admiral had raised an interesting point though: she seemed to have concern over Skywalker. If that concern worked both ways, Skywalker might be more co-operative if she was around. It was certainly a theory worth testing out. But, he needed to test that allegiance first. If she could be made to think Skywalker would suffer if she tried to escape, it would make things much simpler.  
  
"Madame Chief of State, he said, though there was no respect for her title in his voice I hope you haven't been too uncomfortable here." he said, trying to cool her obvious anger a little. The droid translated his every word for her.   
  
She glared, "Why have I been brought here?" she asked bluntly, obviously not about to play with words.   
  
Fr'h'tokh answered, "I think we need to talk. In a few hours we will be preparing to attack again,"  
  
"I wont tell you any military secrets-" Leia started,   
  
"Of course not. I wouldn't expect you to. I need your help in a different matter. I-" His comlink beeped. He frowned. He had specifically asked not to be interrupted. He brought it up "What is it?" he clipped.  
  
"Sir, we have an incoming ship. It's a small ship, the transponder registers it as council aide Borak's ship" his new captain said.   
  
Fr'h'tokh scowled. What was he doing here? They had cut off communications with him after his usefulness had expired. "Tell him to crawl back to his own people." Fr'h'tokh said, moving to switch the comlink off.   
  
"Sir, he's started to hail us now. He says it's urgent."   
  
Fr'h'tokh was going to tell the captain to cut him off, but decided better of it. It was probably best to get rid of him now, "Put him through here then," he said, flicking the comlink of and waiting.   
  
The large viewscreen on the far wall buzzed static for a moment before coalescing into the image of the council aide. The p'w'ecks moved Leia out of view of the pickup. Fr'h'tokh considered sending her out, but decided against it. The council aide flushed at the sight of the ssi-ruuk,   
  
"Elder." he said, in a deep, trained voice "I have been trying to reach you for weeks now. Important news has come to my attention." he said, eyes scanning the room behind Fr'h'tokh.   
  
Fr'h'tokh glared at the human "Did you not receive our message indicating our allegiance with you is ended?" he dared the human to say no.   
  
"I...I received it. But we had a deal, I want those systems I was promised." his voice hardened "I kept my part of the deal."  
  
"The deal has been altered. You will get no systems." Fr'h'tokh clipped.   
  
"You can't do that. I have information."  
  
"And what use would that be to us? " Fr'h'tokh asked  
  
"They suspect on Coruscant, Elder, Rogue Squadron was sent out to investigate this area of space. Leia Organa Solo--"  
  
"This is old news, council aide, and Organa Solo is of no concern." he replied, signalling for the guards to bring the President into the pickup. "By now the senate will know of our existence anyway."  
  
Borak gasped as Leia walked into the pickup. Fr'h'tokh put a claw on her shoulder, drawing up welts with his claws,   
  
"You haven't." he whispered, then regained some composure "Elder, this is a very big mistake- " he started.   
  
"No. The mistake was your coming here. I suggest you run back to Coruscant and ask for mercy, Borak, or crawl back into whatever hole you came from originally. But don't come back here again." he warned.  
  
"Elder, I can't do that. You still need my help. We have a deal!!!"  
  
"We had a deal, council aide. Past tense. Now get out of my sight before I order my gunners to shoot you down." Fr'h'tokh was getting tired of this, now.   
  
"Elder- no. Listen to me. President Organ-"  
  
"I'm sorry, Borak. It looks like you've made a pact with the devil. And a lot of innocent people are going to get hurt because of you. I can't help you, and I wouldn't even if I could." Leia put in, her voice stinging.   
  
"President, I-"  
  
"You took my brother from me, and now my children don't have a mother because of you. I hope whatever humanity is left in you feels guilty over this."  
  
"President I never meant-"   
  
"Enough!" Fr'h'tokh cut in, annoyed by the banter. "Go, now, and don't return, you've tried my patience far enough." he said. Borak stared one more time at the Elder before cutting the transmission. "Captain?" Fr'h'tokh asked into his comlink.   
  
"His engines are firing sir...he's gone into hyperspace."   
  
"Good, if he comes back, destroy him." he said, before flicking it off and putting it down. He turned back to Leia.  
  
  
Chapter two: Life doesn't have an undo option  
  
Han swotted at the air, aiming uselessly for the comm and hitting nothing. Groaning, he pulled himself upright and fought to see in the dim light. Finding the comm, he shut it's incessant beeping by hitting the receive switch   
  
"Captain Solo?" a droid voice asked. He rubbed sleep from his eyes and answered.   
  
"Yeah. Who's this?" he asked into the pickup, leaving it on audio only,   
  
"This is spaceport control, sir. You asked to be notified when a specific ship, council aide Borak's ship, returned to Coruscant."  
  
"It's back? When?" Han asked, fully awake now.  
  
"About an hour ago, sir. He docked at the Senate Diplomatic Docking Bay." The droid answered.  
  
"Do you know where the council aide went after he docked?" Han asked, clambering out of bed and moving for the wardrobe   
  
"No, sir,"   
  
"Okay, never mind. Thanks." he cut the connection as he pulled on an old shirt, ran tired fingers through his hair and moved into the lounge. Without turning the light on, he found his blaster and holster, and then picked up his comlink. Making for the door, he flicked it on.   
  
"Admiral Ackbar's office," a human voice said.  
  
"This is Captain Solo, I need to be put through to the Admiral immediately." Han said, pacing down the corridors towards the turbolift, trying not to run. Even so, some passers by gave him a few odd looks. The nightlights made the corridors look bigger, full of shadows.   
  
Han stepped cautiously around a corner, leaning around an ornate statue to check it was clear. Satisfied, he moved on and stepped into the lift. "I'm sorry sir, Admiral Ackbar doesn't want to be disturbed." The man on the other end said,   
  
"He'll want to be disturbed for this." Han said, keying the lift for the senate halls.  
  
"Sir, He's sleeping."  
  
"He'll get over it. Call him now, its important" Han replied.  
  
"What is it about?" the aide asked, not ready to take orders from Han.  
  
"I can't tell you," Han answered "but if you don't wake him I'll come down there myself and drag him out of bed." Han said as the lift moved rapidly upwards, the momentum dragging at his stomach. In the pause that followed he checked his blaster.   
  
It was fully charged. Good.   
  
In the background he could hear voices arguing. At last, the Admiral's gravely but not sleepy voice said,   
  
"Solo, what is it?" Han sighed mentally,   
  
"Admiral, I just got word council aide Borak just arrived on planet." Han said. The lift stopped. Han stepped out of the lift and strode down the large halls, feet echoing of the stone floors. "He docked in the Senate docking facilities. I'm going down there now." Han said.   
The admiral paused "I'll meet you there. I'll call palace security, get them on the look out for him. What would he be doing back here?" He asked   
  
  
"I don't know. But we're going to find out." Han replied, reaching the docking bay lift and flicking off the comm.   
  
As the doors shut behind him, he pulled his blaster out and pressed back against the lift wall. The doors opened to an eerie silence that echoed into the lift space.   
  
Han stepped gingerly out into the dim light. The docking bay was supposed to be closed now, and the lights were down to a minimum. Shadows lay across the floor from the rows of diplomatic ships resting in their bays. Han scanned the area before moving of to the left, hugging the wall. He didn't seriously think that Borak would still be here, but he wasn't taking any risks. The walls were cool too touch, he tried to walk softly to stop his steps echoing.   
  
He walked slowly down past the ships, scanning for the red diplomatic shuttle he knew was here somewhere. He reached a small one-man cruiser, it was smaller than all the others in the bay. This had to be it. He moved smoothly into the bay, watching for movement. He reached the ship's side, put a hand to it: it was still warm from flight. He ducked under one wing and found the door.  
Out of the corner of his eye a shadow moved. He twisted round, aim following the shadow. A small piece of metal crashed onto the floor a few steps in front of him. Too late, he realised the diversion, and swung back around to where the object had been thrown from.  
  
The sound of rushing air moved past his ears. Something hard smashed into the top of his head, he gasped as his vision tunnelled and the blaster flew out of his hand, sliding across the floor. A figure moved in front of him as he sagged to his knees and with a smooth action, hit him across the back of the head, sending him into unconsciousness.  
  
  
---  
  
  
  
Leia stared at the big alien as he turned back to face her. At least she could now be certain it was Borak who was the spy, not that that was much comfort right now.   
  
"My apologies for the interruption, a minor inconvenience, nothing more." the droid translated.  
  
"How did you get to him?" Leia asked,  
  
"Actually, he came to us first. He is quite...bitter towards you. It was ...useful."  
  
"He contacted you? How?" she asked,  
  
"This is not what I brought you here for." He said. Leia decided not to push the subject; the alien didn't seem to have a long tolerance for this subject.  
  
"Then what did you bring me here for?" she asked  
  
"Why do think we did not leave you on the surface?" he said, moving back to the window.   
  
"I would presume that even you would see it as a good advantage to have the leader of the opposition." she said, voice neutral.  
  
"Indeed. So tell me, since you knew what an advantage this would be...why did you come to Sele4?" he asked, turning back and planting a beady stare on her.  
  
"I thought that was obvious too." she glared  
  
"It is, but indulge me." He said   
  
"I came to get Luke back. He needed our help: we came."  
  
"Despite the risks, when you could have sent someone else and not risked yourself? Quite an admirable thing to do."  
  
"Not in our culture. In your culture, maybe doing something for someone else, without any reward for yourself, is rare. But not in ours."  
  
"Hmmm all this leads me to the idea that you are very...loyal to your family." he said  
  
"We've been through a lot." she said, a hint of suspicion creeping into her voice,  
  
The alien moved back to the lone table in the room, "I wonder ...how far does this comradeship stretch?"  
  
"As far as it has too." she replied. He looked up from the desk, eyes intent. Leia had the unnerving feeling that he was looking right through her.   
  
"President, your brother is below decks. He is alive. Do you know why we wanted him here?" he asked, searching eyes looking her up and down.  
  
"I have an idea." she replied, matching his stare.  
  
"Really? What do you know? Do you know that this has been planned for a very long time? That he's here for the same reason we were interested in him some 14 years ago over Bakura?"  
  
Leia didn't say anything   
  
"Do you know that he has an implant right about...here." he moved uncomfortably close to her and tapped lightly on the back of her head. His voice lowered as he leaned in closer "Do you know that we can control his every action? That he is just a shell now?" His voice was a harsh, grating whisper as his breath brushed her cheek "President, do you know just how many people your brother has killed in the last month?"   
  
Her eyes bugged but she couldn't think of anything to say. He moved back away from her, but his presence still hung close like a wet blanket.   
  
"What have you done?" she said at last, unable to keep her voice neutral anymore.   
  
"Only what needed to be done. Tell me, do you still want to save him?"  
  
"He won't help you, you know, you can't make him."  
  
"Cant we? We already have." His voice was laced with pleasure,   
  
"Except that he got away from you once." Leia challenged,   
  
"Once, yes. It was a mistake. Don't worry, it won't happen again. For one thing, we have you now." he said.  
  
"That won't make any difference to him. It doesn't matter what you do, he will still resist you." she said.   
"You don't sound too sure, President." He smiled "I think you ought to know that any actions by you to either escape or sabotage, wont just affect how you are treated. I hope that is understood."   
  
"Perfectly." Leia said, biting back a vicious comment. She didn't trust this alien's temper.  
  
"I you comply, you will be repaid." She said nothing "He'll be awake in a few hours. You can see him, and then, perhaps, you will have to decide where your true loyalties lie."  
  
"I can't tell you I'll help you." She said as the p'w'ecks moved back into a guards position around her  
  
"It wouldn't be me you were helping. We can do this with or without your help, understand that. This affects your brother only."  
  
"And the New Republic."  
  
"Yes. That decision is yours alone. Make the right one."  
  
  
---  
  
  
  
A bright light shone in his eyes. He flinched from it, bringing up a hand to his eyes. Ackbar's voice sounded dim and distant in his ears,   
  
"Solo?" he asked. Han swallowed hard and nodded as the Admiral helped him to sit upright and lean against the back of the ship. He rubbed at his temples as the Admiral talked into a comlink. The lights had been brought on in the bay and Han could see the ship properly now. It had a red streak running around the cockpit, with long sleek wings sweeping around to the back. Ackbar bent down by Han's side "Did you see him?" he asked,   
  
"No," Han said, still a little shaken "I never saw him coming." He used a wing to climb to his feet as a group of palace security came running up.   
  
They saluted to Ackbar "Sir, there's no sign of him in the bays. He must have moved into the palace." Said a fresh-faced lieutenant   
  
"Have you put extra guards on?" The Admiral asked as Han accepted a med pack from one of the guards and searched through it for a   
stimulant "They're in place sir." he said.  
  
"Good, Solo, you fit to move yet?" he asked Han.   
  
"Yeah, but lets think a minute. Why would he have come back here?" he said, placing the patch on the top of his arm and visibly relaxing as the drug worked into his system   
  
"I don't know." the Admiral said, honestly.  
  
"He can't have known that we suspect him until I showed up. He's probably running scared. Where's he going to go?" Han thought hard.   
  
The Admiral got there first: "He'll probably want to try and get rid of any evidence that he was ever involved in any of this. The library records?" he asked. Han nodded, turned back to the guards. "Have extra men put on the library. Tell them to detain but not harm Borak." He said before jogging towards the lift. Ackbar was two steps behind him. He turned to him as the doors shut   
  
"Solo, you sure your up to this yet?" he asked,   
  
"I'm fine, I have a few questions for this guy, and I'm not going to let him get away" Han said  
  
"Don't worry, he won't."  
  
  
---  
  
  
  
Lieutenant Anderson shifted uncomfortably in front of the library doors, tracking the corridor with his blaster. The silence in the halls was deafening, his mind racing, senses alert for any movement, he kept his eyes firmly fixed on the corridor ahead. Beside him, three other guards shifted uncomfortably too, eyes trained on the corridor. They had got the alert a few minutes ago, and were waiting for Admiral Ackbar to arrive.   
  
Behind them the door to the library opened, they all twisted round at the noise. A gold protocol droid moved towards them primly.   
  
"Oh, I'm sorry, I was-" beside him, the wall exploded.   
  
Anderson threw up a hand to protect himself from the sparks as he twisted back towards where the blaster fire had come from. A guard beside him crumpled to the floor.   
  
He was halfway around now, tracking with his blaster, another guard fell, he was moving fast but Borak had just a split second on him, the final guard's world exploded as he fell to the floor.  
  
  
---  
  
  
"Sir, we've lost contact with guards on the library floor." The Admiral's comlink said,   
  
Han swore, willing the lift to move faster as they headed down to the library. He paced uneasily before the doors finally opened. They moved slowly out into the corridor together, covering the area. Sure it was clear, they began to move faster.  
  
Jogging down corridors as fast as they dare, they moved towards the main door. Turning the last corner, Han slowed and peered around. Four guards lay in a heap beside a blasted wall. The doorway was clear.   
  
Signalling to the Admiral, they moved forward together. Reaching the charred wall, they slipped into the room.   
  
Banks of machinery hummed softly in the background as they moved into the room, tracking the council aide. They moved behind a one of the large computers, Han sprinting lightly forward. He reached just a few meters in front of the main administrators console before ducking down. The slight form of Borak leaned over the terminal, hurriedly clicking away at a keyboard. His blaster lay in the top of the station, close to his left hand. Han ducked down low and moved up behind the council aide. Ackbar signalled him to stand down, but Han kept on moving. At the last moment, Borak heard him. He tensed before his left hand snatched for the blaster, his body turning towards Han. Han was there before he had a chance to fire, and with a fierce kick, the blaster flew over the railings.   
  
Anger springing in his eyes, Borak launched himself at Han. Unprepared after his kick, Han fell to the floor as Borak slammed him, his small but wiry form pinning him down. His hands snaked around Han's neck and squeezed.   
  
Han gasped for air. The Admiral appeared over them, blaster pointed into the nape of Borak's neck. In a stern, commanding voice he said, "Let go."   
  
Borak seemed to consider fighting, but only for a moment. His hands went limp and his grip slackened. Han rolled away from him, and gained his feet, his face flushed red. Borak stared back up into Ackbar's blaster point, scowling.   
  
Behind Han, a troop of guards rushed into the room and surrounded Borak. The council aide stood slowly and turned to stare at Han, eyes piercing but defeated. Han stepped forward as a guard pulled the aide's hands behind him and into a pair of binders.   
  
"Borak." Han said, "What the hell are you doing back here?"  
  
"Solo" Borak spat "A pleasure to meet you at last." he grinned slyly "What a shame your wife and brother-in-law aren't here to meet me."   
Han's anger burst. He threw himself at Borak "Where are they?" he growled, grabbing the slighter man by his shirt. Three guards stepped in and hauled Han of him. Borak just grinned slowly. Admiral Ackbar snorted with contempt. "Take him away." He said, moving to Han's side.   
  
Han was still fuming but he kept his anger under control as the troop moved out of the room. Ackbar placed a reassuring hand on Han's arm "Don't worry. He'll talk." He said, before moving away and up to the terminal Borak had been working on. He flicked through it as Han turned to him.   
  
"Did he get much?" Han asked.   
  
"No, he didn't delete much, but we don't know how important the things he deleted are." Han rubbed at his neck. "At least we've got him" he said.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Swh'hr'ring circled the tank, peering intently at the connections he had just made. Approving them, he stepped back to examine his work. P'w'ecks worked at he base of the tank, fixing some of the simpler entechment circuitry. The clear glass front stretched nearly from he deck to the ceiling, dark metal enclosed the top and bottom, and at the back the entechment circuitry spread out across the back wall. The back of the tank had been replaced by the contacts for the circuitry. There were several breaks in the tank where various leads and pipes would go into the tank. Breathing apparatus had been modified for long-term use; it was almost ready.   
Swh'hr'ring smiled to himself as he moved back to the bacta tank and adjusted one of the pipes. They had just a few hours left before the Admiral would want to attack again. It would probably be a small attack, another test. Then they would move onto their first major offensive over Slastare. But...they had plenty of time to prepare for that. Things were on schedule again.  
  
  
---  
  
  
  
Han leaned forward over the table and stared at Borak. Borak smiled back at him.  
  
Ackbar sat straight-backed and alert next to Han, staring passively at them "Council aide. I hope you understand the seriousness of the charges."  
  
"Perfectly, thank you."  
  
"You could be in lockup for a very, very long time." Han put it. "Do you want that?"  
  
"No one wants that." he replied softly, settling back into the chair,  
  
"Co-operating would be a start to cutting down that time." Ackbar said, studying the man.  
  
He said nothing.  
  
"Borak, you've made a lot of people angry. You broke a lot of people's trust. But...if you regret it, if you help us now, they'll still be lenient." Borak studied the floor a moment before looking up and straight into Han's eyes.   
  
"I will tell you. But not because of any hope of leniency, or mercy. I'm not sure any would be forthcoming anyway. I'll tell you because I need to repay someone. I made a deal I probably shouldn't have done, and I need to repay them in kind."  
  
"Go on."  
  
He sighed, and sat back again "I won't insult you by starting at the beginning. I'm guessing right now you want to know where they are?"  
  
"Go on"  
  
"Sele4 was a...a warm-up. They have a full battle plan. I didn't see it all, but I think I can tell you where they'll be. They've come a long way to get here: their low on resources. Every target so far has been for resources. They've used a lot ships gaining those resources, it makes sense that their next big one will be ship yards."  
  
"Ship yards?"   
  
"They don't have any way of making new fighters. They'll need a way. So the next target will be Slastare."  
  
"Slastare? I haven't heard of it." Han said  
  
"I have. Its a modern facility we took off the Imperials way back, just after Endor."  
  
"Is it defended??" Han asked him,  
  
Borak answered, "Yes, it is. And there are better shipyards in the area. But Slastare has natural resources that can be mined for building ships. It's an all-in package. It was always on their attack plan to take it." He said, whispering slyly.  
  
"How do-" Ackbar's comlink cut him off.   
  
"Excuse me, the Admiral said, before retreating to a far corner of the room. Han watched him walk before turning back to Borak.   
  
"How are we supposed to believe your telling the truth?" He asked. Borak folded his arms across his chest and leaned backwards, a hint of a laugh touching his lips   
  
"Your not." he said "Take it or leave it."  
  
Han scowled at the other man. Ackbar, moved back towards them "Captain Solo, a word." He pointed to the door. Han got up and followed him, when the door was safely shut behind them Han asked "What is it?"  
  
"The senate has finished debating." He said. His face was grave. Han urged him on "They're not going to attack."  
  
"What! That's ridiculous, that's-" Ackbar put up a hand.  
  
"Most of the senators couldn't care less about those outlying systems, you know that." He said  
  
"Except, that attack force isn't just staying in the outer rim, its heading straight for us. Slastare is in Republic space."  
  
"But Sele4 was not. But...though I said they are not going to attack, they are going to send out a small task force to assess the situation." There was a hint of something else in his voice.  
  
"What? Don't they believe us?"  
  
"It's not that they don't believe you, but they want to know the capabilities of this attack group."  
  
"And if they get spooked out there?"  
  
Ackbar grimaced "Then they have orders to destroy the ships in whatever way possible."  
  
"Destroy them! They can't destroy them! Leia is on that ship! Aren't they going to mount any rescue attempt?"  
  
"Only if the attack force isn't too much of a threat."  
  
"But they are. I've seen them, Admiral. As soon as any task force gets there, they'll be wiped out."  
  
"I know."  
  
"Who's leading this task force?"  
  
"Borak" The Admiral said, grimacing.  
  
"What?!"  
  
"Solo, one person can't be blamed for the actions of their family. You of all people should know that."  
  
"This is different."  
  
"Is it? Look, that's not the point. The point is that their not willing to mount a major offensive before the task force gets back." Han glared at him.  
  
"When do they leave?"  
  
"Tomorrow."  
  
"Admiral, can't you get a bigger force together? They wont stand a chance."  
  
"No, I can't go against the senate. The task force will go, it will either be destroyed by the ssi-ruuk, or the ssi-ruuk will be destroyed by them"  
  
"And Leia?"  
  
"I'm sorry, Han."  
  
  
---  
  
  
Leia hurried behind her guards. She'd been put back in her 'room' for what seemed like ages and had had time to think about what the ssi-rruk had told her. She knew that right now she should be feeling scared or angry or even guilty, but all she had was a dull ache.   
  
Maybe she'd had too much of feeling to feel anything at all anymore.   
  
She thought she knew where they were going. She hoped she knew where they were going. As much as she'd wanted to dread this, she couldn't help but feel a little relieved that she was going to see Luke again. Not that being near him would help her any, but at least she wouldn't feel so alone anymore.  
  
  
---  
  
  
"Then I'll have to go." Han said as the stalked down the corridor together.  
  
"What? You cant. You don't stand anymore chance than that task force." Ackbar warned,  
  
"I can't just sit here any longer. Admiral, we both know that task force is a suicide mission. I need to get there before them and get Leia off that ship before they have a chance to do anything stupid."  
  
"You think they can destroy the ships?" he asked, curious.  
  
"No, not really. But if Borak's in charge"  
  
"Borak is no military leader." Ackbar pointed out  
  
"No, but he has vengeance on his side. I don't think he's going to be satisfied with reconnaissance duty."  
  
"You think he's going to try and pay them back for his brother?"  
  
"Why else would the council aide tell us where they are?"  
  
"Hmmmthen this is a mission he doesn't expect to come back from. Vengeance is a dangerous thing. I don't like having it work against us."  
  
"Neither do I. If Borak really does mean to destroy that ship..." he didn't finish the sentence.  
  
"Admiral. I need your help. I need a small group -just a few well armed ships- to go out there with me." Han stopped and faced the Admiral  
  
"Solo, I cant-"  
  
"Admiral. I can't do this without you. Please." Han stared at him for a long while.  
  
At last, the Admiral conceded "A small task group then. Nothing bigger than 5 ships. You'll have to leave tonight to stay ahead of them, though."  
  
"Thank you. Hopefully that'll be all I need."  
  
"I hope so, the senate is not going to take kindly to this."  
  
"No, but you still need to campaign for an all-out offensive against them, we need to stop them now, before they get any closer."  
  
"If the task force fails, then I think well be able to convince the senate to attack. If they don't fail...then their wont be any need for an attack anymore."  
  
"That's not how some people will see it." Han said.  
  
"Is there something your not telling me?"  
  
Han grinned slowly "No, I just have a few favours to call in"  
  
  
---  
  
  
  
The p'w'eck guard parted as they approach a heavily shielded door. Leia's footsteps slowed involuntarily, an eerie feeling creeping down her spine. Her mind numbed as she stopped in front of it. The door rose slowly rising up into the ceiling. A pale light shone out of the room, and the noise of machinery reached through the door to her. Her p'w'ecks pushed her forward into the room, her steps heavy and slow, her feet felt leaden as she moved across the floor. The guard kept in a tight circle around her as she cleared the doorway. A small brown ssi-ruuk turned as she entered and honked softly to the guard. It moved towards the ssi-ruuk, but Leia hardly noticed, her eyes were fixed on the far end of the room. Her mouth was dry as her feet compelled her feet forward though she wanted to stay still. The bacta tank was central to room, close to the back wall. The bacta shone a sickly red colour, but the lighting left a blue and purple glow on the floor in front of it.   
  
The figure in the tank was unmistakably Luke. His head lolled to the side in unconsciousness, eyes closed. He was wearing a tight black suit that she didn't recognise. Sandy brown hair formed a wispy halo above his head, bubbles rose through the tank bouncing of the sides and his body.  
  
Leia approached slowly, her steps forced, a lump in her throat. It wasn't the bacta tank that was sending shivers down her back. An array of wires stretched out from behind the tank, some connecting back into the wall, others reaching into the tank and through the black suit. Along his arms, legs, chest and back wires snaked out and back into the machinery behind him.   
  
Leia stood next to the tank now, and stared up into his closed eyes. She put out a shaky hand to the tank, palm face down against the smooth glass. It hummed slightly with the machinery, but was cool against her hand. She closed her eyes and tried to reach out to the Force. A strong pair of claws gripped her shoulders and pulled her backwards away from the tank. Her eyes flew open and she twisted in the grip. The ssi-ruuk honked in surprise, four paddle beamers hurriedly aimed at her as the ssi-ruuk scuttled away from her. She froze as the aliens eyed her nervously. Her tensed muscled relaxed as her eyes moved back towards the tank.   
  
"What have you done?" she asked the ssi-ruuk, her eyes keeping the image of Luke's blank face as she stared at the alien. A silence hung as the alien seemed to consider answering her. Finally, it whistled to the smaller aliens and turned away from her. The p'w'ecks moved in closer to her, herding her back towards a corner of the room   
  
"Hey! What have you done?" she spat the words at the alien, but it continued to ignore her, hovering over an instrument panel on the other side of the room. Two p'w'ecks circled her back and grasped her hands together.  
  
"Hey!" she shouted as the smaller aliens fastened her hands back behind her.  
  
The ssi-ruuk was talking into a comm now, Leia quietened to try and understand the conversation, but she couldn't. A few times, the ssi-ruuk glanced over at her, or over at Luke before turning back to the comm and continuing.  
  
He cut off the comm and walked over towards Leia. She glared at it as it approached. It reached her, beady eyes studying her face before reaching past her shoulder and picking something up. Leia squirmed in the restraints as it brought back a hypodermic. She shrank back against the wall as it gripped her shoulder and slid the needle in.  
  
"No! wait! I need-" she said, voice failing her as her eyes blurred "I can't-" she slumped into unconsciousness.  
  
  
  
---  
  
  
Han switched of the terminal and sat back in the stiff chair. He'd put out all the calls he could think of. He could only hope now that they would respond. There was no time to sit around waiting for replies though, not now he knew where Leia was.   
  
He stared at the blank terminal. He wished he could stay for a reply but they couldn't wait that long...behind him a door creaked open.   
Han swivelled the chair to face the dark-haired man that slipped in.#  
  
"Hey, Wedge, you ready?" he asked   
  
"Yeah," Wedge shut the door behind him softly "I've got the Rogues up waiting, they just need us to join them" he said.  
  
Han lifted himself out the chair "Lets go then. You sure you don't want to ride in the Falcon?" He asked the younger man,  
  
"No, I'm better of with the squadron." he glanced down at the screen. "Any reply yet?" he pointed at the terminal  
  
"No. And we don't have time to wait. Borak's team will be right behind us as it is. We need to be there first."  
  
"Okay, come on. The carrier group is waiting."  
  
"What did Ackbar get us in the end?" Han asked as they left the box room and walked into the corridor.  
  
They walked towards the docking bays, "Nothing big, I'm afraid. A couple of carriers to carry the snub fighters. That's all though, General." Wedge said the last word with relish.  
  
"General? Wedge, I resigned my commission years ago" Han looked confused,  
  
"Ackbar reinstated you." He grinned "You being a general makes it easier for him to explain this to the senate."  
  
"Nice of him to tell me." Han muttered. Wedge grinned.  
  
"Is Corran coming?"  
  
Wedge's smile faded "Yeah, I didn't want him to, but he's insisting and...well, he's a good pilot."  
  
"We're going to need all we've got" Han said.  
  
"Yeah." Wedge blew out a sigh. "You think we can do it?" he asked  
  
Han was silent a moment before answering. "I hope so." He said quietly.

  
Episode 6 coming soon   
  
Teaser Excerpt...  
  
Leia's mind froze, her breath went out of her, and suddenly, Luke's presence was blasted out of her mind.   
  
"No!!!" she screamed frozen in place under the bleeding body of the alien.   
  
Too late too late too late.   
  
Her mind screamed even as the sudden pain of the contact tore at her, the violence with which Luke's presence was ripped free shocking all her muscles and she sagged to the floor, unable to move.   
  
Luke flailed in the tank, his hands flying up to the mask as the last dregs of consciousness were torn from him. His finger dug around the breathing mask pulling hard, but nothing happened. He dug in deeper, ripping at it, as the dioxins flooded through and into his body. His body tired, stopped its thrashing, and black spots appeared in front of his eyes. Feeling a strange falling sensation, Luke's vision passed away with that last look of Leia staring up at him, horrified at her own failure, he knew. His last sensation was her voice screaming at him before his mind tumbled backwards and gave way to the cool, deep black. 

   [1]: mailto:vikki18@totalise.co.uk



	6. Episode Six

Disclaimer -I really really wish these characters where mine but...they're not. Please let me have my dream and don't sue me for it....  
  
This is where I thank people...and instead of thanking someone or thing that helped me get through writing this, I'd like to thank you lot. Yes; you. Don't look so surprised. Your kind comments mean a lot, so thanks.

Also, a very big thanks to Kathy Tyers. You created the ssi-ruuk, without which, well...this wouldnt exist. But mainly thanks for being so kind, understanding and approachable, theres not many sw authors that are prepared to talk to the fans.  
  
Mina - [vikki18@totalise.co.uk][1]

**Abhoration and the Alternative**

**Episode 6**

Chapter One: Reunion

Leia woke groggily, her eyes blurred. She tried to bring a hand up to her face to rub them but her hand wouldn't move. Confused, she shook her head to try and clear it. That didn't help matters much; it only increased the ache rapidly growing behind her eyes. Vague images reappeared and the world spun a little as she moved her head too fast. She closed her eyes again and gave herself time to wake up before opening them once more. They blinked unwillingly several times as the light made them water that she refused to believe could represent tears. Looking down, away from the light, she was able to make sense of what she saw and found the reason her hand hadn't moved. They were locked in restraints attached to the arms of the chair she was sat in. It seemed like a crude and rushed condition, the chair was uncomfortable, leaning back at a painful angle. She craned her head to look at the back of the seat. She wasn't surprised to see hard black padding, ridged in few places and not as soft as it appeared from sight. More surprising was the strange machinery, which reached out from the back of it, partially covered by a sheet of transparisteel covering the very back of the chair. She felt her heart skip, but quietened her fears as she realised the circuitry lead nowhere, though she thought she recognised the design but couldn't place it.   
  
Her eyes properly adjusted by now, Leia turned back to stare around the room. She was still in that strange laboratory they'd brought her into earlier. It was bright, but had a dim feeling about it, liked the atmosphere mocked the attempts to keep the room well lit. Remembering that moment (and how long ago had that been? Minutes? Hours? Days?) She looked up to stare at the far wall.   
The bacta tank holding Luke still stood opposite her, with an obscene beauty in the myriad patterns of light. There were no ssi-ruuk near her, not that she could see anyway.   
  
Somehow, she had hoped it wasn't real. Futility always seemed to try to make your dreams come true.  
  
She tried to relax and reached out to the Force, reaching out to her brother. To her surprise, Luke's presence buzzed just below consciousness. She stretched but couldn't quite reach him. It was not as if there was some physical barrier protecting her, more that when she tried to touch his presence, he felt more like an apparition through which her hand passed.   
  
Her eyes opened to stare at him in the bacta tank, the soothing bacta bubbles writhing in rhythm with her frustration. Sighing heavily, releasing her tension, she worked her wrists in the restraints.  
  
She froze as the smaller brown ssi-ruuk walked into the room, followed closely by a protocol droid she recognised from the arid Sele4 and the larger blue ssi-ruuk who Leia had talked to on the bridge. They approached her, faces unreadable in true ssi-ruuvi fashion. Leia tried not to squirm as they looked her up and down. She kept her face in a mask of contempt, though she swallowed before talking,   
  
"So this is your big plan then?" she asked. A better retort might have satisfied her need for vengeance, but signs of defiance might lead her captors to be stricter on their security measures, and that was something she didn't want.  
  
The blue one looked at her quizzically before saying "No, only a part of it." She looked unimpressed "Be patient, President. You will see."  
  
"You promised me I could speak with him." She said. Though she didn't think these aliens particularly cared much for honouring their promises, in her position she was willing to use anything she had.  
  
"Hmm.no, I didn't. I said you could see him. Tell me, have you decided?"  
  
"Did I ever have a choice?" she shot back. He smiled slyly.  
  
"Good." He turned back to the p'w'ecks and whistled at them, before facing her again "I will let you be alone with him for a few minutes, no longer" She covered her surprise at his concession. "After that...you'll be staying here from now on. A closer threat is a bigger threat, don't you agree?"   
  
She scowled.   
  
"Good." the brown alien moved to the tank's side and, with practiced ease, flicked some switches. At first, nothing appeared to be happening, but gradually Luke's eyelids fluttered as consciousness flooded back through. Her Force image of his gradually began to harden into something more palpable  
  
The p'w'ecks moved in and undid her binders, before placing restraints around her wrists. She sat up gingerly, stretching her legs slowly. The ssi-ruuk moved out the way as she walked over to the tank, slow footsteps to keep her steady rather than to stop from inciting a reaction from the guards. She heard/felt the static feeling of a force field spring up behind her as she approached, and the binders clicked and fell loose to the floor. With the sound of their impact still rattling around the laboratory, she looked back at the aliens; the blue one nodded and moved towards the door, the others following. Carefully, she turned back to face her slowly waking brother, and placed a hand to the tank. Static rushed in scattered blue waves away from her fingers as she touched the side; another force field.  
  
"Ten minutes. No longer." the alien said as they left the room. She watched them leave, her eyes lingering on the closed doorway before turning back to Luke.  
  
"Luke? Luke can you hear me?" she asked, hand still pushing static out where it was laid against the tank. The sound of the field buzzed the air in the chill silence of the bay. Almost reluctantly, Luke's eyes blinked slightly as he strained to open them after days of not being used.  
  
"Luke?" he shook his head, barely perceptibly. His eyes flickered and widened, the bacta enhancing their crystal blue, as if seeing for the first time. Confusion fluttered across his face before his gaze settled onto the woman standing before him, and Leia would like to think she saw a smile touch the corners of his mouth around the breathing mask. He coughed before trying his voice.   
  
"Leia?" his voice croaked but there was no mistaking his relief and pleasure at seeing her.  
  
She smiled gently at him as tired eyes focused on her face, close to the glass. Blonde strands of hair haloed above his head in a crown as he looked around, "Where-" his voice caught and he coughed before starting again "Where am I?"  
  
She tried to keep smiling, but she knew her own sense of dread was etched into her eyes as she spoke again, "Its okay, Luke." she said.   
  
Recognition fell into his eyes and they dulled as memories flooded in, fresh and painful. He paled slightly, looking like the spirit of her earlier Force vision.  
  
"We'll get out. I promise." She almost whispered the words to him like she would a child, searching in his eyes for a hope she didn't feel.  
  
He gazed at her, desperately wanting to believe her. He turned his head, sending a shower of bubbles up into the bacta, and looked behind him, seeing the mass of machinery and wires behind him. She felt his sense sink lower as he ran his finger against the edge of the entechment circuitry, black like the ridged exoskeleton of some exotic beetle. Or, if she were feeling pessimistic, like dried blood.  
He looked down at the floor, not able to look into her eyes.   
  
"Luke?"  
  
He brought his head up like it weighed heavy on his shoulder. Pleading, unbelieving blue eyes met hers. He didn't say anything. He didn't need to. It was all there for her to see.   
  
She swallowed. "I'm sorry." She knew it wasn't enough, could never be enough. She brought another hand up to the glass "I'm so sorry." she bit back bitter, angry tears. Bitter because of her frustration at her inability to help him, angry with the aliens that ha masterminded this whole mess.  
  
Luke brought his own hand up opposite to hers "Its okay, Leia. Really." He said as his hand touched the cool glass, bubbles breaking against his skin as he moved.   
  
He stared up at the top of the tank, studying it. Leia watched as he kicked his legs up from the floor to reach the top and tried to undo the seal. His fingers latched around the intricate detail of the seal and he hung there. After a few seconds inspection he sank back down again.   
  
"You cant-"  
  
He shook his head.   
  
"Leia, you shouldn't have come." he said the conviction in his voice chilling.  
  
"What else was I supposed to do?" her eyes pleaded with him not to answer that.   
  
"Leia, I- its good to see you again." she smiled at him as he managed a weak smile for her.   
  
"How do you feel?"  
  
He laughed, a bitter-ironic laugh "Fine. I feel fine." He said, voice neutral. "There's a good 500 people out there who aren't feeling nearly as good though." his voice choked and he looked away again. Suddenly the idea that the circuitry looked like dried blood didn't seem so far from the truth.  
  
"Corran told me. Its not your fault -"  
  
"Don't you see? It doesn't matter whose fault it is. I should have-"  
  
"No, you shouldn't. And you know that, Luke." he looked back at her again. He looked so frail, her heart bled for him.   
  
"I've missed you Luke. I thought you were dead."  
  
"So did I"   
  
"Don'tdon't ever do that to me again." she said, mock seriously. She wagged her finger at him. She got a grin this time.   
  
"Whatever you say, Your Highness."  
  
Behind her the blast door began to move. Luke looked over at it, grin falling as the blue ssi-ruuk stepped through.  
  
"Leia- you have to help me. Maybe together we can-" his voice cut of to a small whisper, though he kept speaking, Leia looked around in shock.   
  
The ssi-ruuk stepped up "Your ten minutes are up, President." she scowled at him as she realised he'd cut off the speakers that amplified Luke's voice through the bacta.   
  
She turned around to face them "And now?"   
  
"Don't worry, it wont be long now."  
  
  
---  
  
  
Swh'hr'ring eyed the woman slumped wearily in the old entechment chair with caution. He still didn't trust her, or those restraints. But...he had been ordered to keep her here and he didn't have a lot of choice when those orders came from the Admiral. She stared back at him, eyes unmoving, with a look that spoke volumes. Swh'hr'ring flinched from her stern gaze, feeling the hate behind those eyes as if it was a palpable thing. He did _not_ like having her here.  
  
He walked over to the entechment area, behind the bacta tank, out of her intense gaze. They were on their way to the biggest battle so far. And this one was very important to the invasion; they desperately needed the shipyards on Slastare to continue moving on New Republic space. But Swh'hr'ring would have preferred more time to perfect the new entechment circuitry. As it was, he'd had to cannibalise the old circuitry, and he didn't like having to do that. New was nearly always better. Even despite the deadline, he'd insist on a trial again. Maybe, if he was lucky, he could persuade Fr'h'tokh to let him entech that annoying woman.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Luke opened his eyes slowly, cuatiously. They ached but it wasn't so bad. He couldn't feel the rest of his body, except for a dull ache whenever he moved.  
  
The bacta brushed against his skin, thick and fluid so that it felt like he was swimming in treacle. Or maybe not swimming: it was said a dunk in a bacta tank was the closest most (the luckiest) pilots got to a zero-g experience.   
  
He put a hand up to his eyes, watched the bubbles bounce of his skin as he moved and float in front of him. He hadn't been in a bacta tank in ages, and even then he was hardly ever awake. The experience was always disorientating, with the sensation of touch almost absolutely removed leaving you feeling like a limb had been lopped off. He grimaced: he certainly knew how that felt, and it wasn't entirely pleasant.   
  
The lights were down in the bay, which meant it was probably their night. Most ships operated on a day-night routine despite the lack of any natural clock to set the times by. The only illumination of the room came from the tank in which he floated and the banks of machinery slowly blinking away quietly to themselves. The bacta's pale blue glow gave the room a ghastly look, exaggerating the shadows and quite. The advantage of it being the rooms main light source meant that whilst he could see everything in his perspective, including his own shadow, anyone looking in would be momentarily blinded by the glow.   
  
In a corner he could see a sleeping Leia, her arms bound to the large, black chair's arms and her hair disarrayed and loose around her shoulders. She looked like she carried the burden of millions, and in retrospect she probably did. A lump formed in his throat as he watched her turn restlessly in her sleep. He wished she hadn't come after him. As much as he was glad to see her, as much as her presence warmed him, he wished she hadn't come. This was exactly the situation he'd been trying to avoid on Sele4, and with Leia's appearance it had all gone wrong. Well, maybe that was a little harsh. He didn't mean to blame her because he knew he would have done nothing less were their positions reversed. Luke had counted on the ssi-ruuk having better aim and hitting something more delicate than his shoulder. Maybe if they found him first, they wouldn't have known how to deal with it like Han had. But that was yet another big maybe, and just lately maybe' had been letting him down.  
  
Now, though, it didn't matter whose fault it was, all that really mattered was that he was back onboard the ssi-ruuk cruiser, and he doubted that they would let him be conscious unless it was for a reason. That thought sent a shiver down his spine as the implications nestled into his consciousness. It meant he probably didn't have long before they went into battle again. He sighed heavily and stared at the floor.   
  
_Not again _  
  
Well, he'd got out once. With Leia's help, he might be able to do it again.  
  
Leia stirred in her sleep, shifting over and deeper into the padding of the chair. And now she was in this mess too. It wasn't just him anymore, and it didn't take a Jedi to figure out why she was up here with him. He smirked: it _did_ take a Jedi to get them here, however. He figured she wasn't here because the ssi-ruuk had suddenly grown a compassionate streak. Whatever happened, he could never let anything harm her, and they must know that.  
  
She sighed softly in her sleep. Luke took his eyes off her and studied the tank around him. It was a small hope that there would be a way out of it but he'd take any chance he could. He twisted around through the thick liquid, the wires conspiring to tangle around his legs. He found the entechment circuitry behind him. It was implanted into the back wall of the tank, small extensions reaching out into the bacta. Luke ran hand across it, feeling the millions of smaller contacts. His fingers searched the edge of the grid, but it was welded tight to the sides of the transparisteel tank; there was no way that was going to budge. Okay, so he wasn't going to get out that way, but then he'd pretty much ruled out getting out by brute force. Reaching to his side, he fingered of the wires and followed it along to where it reached through the strange black suit he was wearing and into his skin, though he had no feeling of it piercing his skin. Perhaps that was an advantage to the loss of touch.  
  
He was tempted to pull at it, but he didn't want to set off any alarms. A dark thought crossed his mind as he realised he didn't want to set off the entechment circuitry for that matter. He gave it a gentle tug, but it didn't yield at all. It was firmly secured to the suit, not just puncturing the fabric but actually being a physical part of it. He traced the wire back into the wall, and tried to gingerly tease it free, but, again, it was held firm into the strange black material. Chagrined, he rested for a moment, thinking, hanging suspended in the bacta.  
Maybe the top would be easier to break open; it was after all the natural entry point to the tank. He'd tried earlier with Leia, but he'd been weary then, and now he felt he had a little more energy. Get his feet under him he pushed upwards from the bottom. He reached the top and clung on. The welding was in some sort of intricate design, without any obvious joins. He brought his fingers along it, feeling for a seal, but couldn't find one. Forcing his mind to relax he reached out to the metal and got his suspicion confirmed: it was the same metal they had used on the restraints. There was no way the Force could move it, and apparently it wasn't made to ever be opened again. He let himself float slowly downwards again, desperately trying to fight through the fog of his mind to think of idea. To think of anything.   
  
  
---  
  
  
The _Falcon _lifted cleanly through Coruscant's atmosphere and headed for space. Han watched the nightside planet fall away, before flicking on the comm.  
  
"Wedge?" he called.  
  
"I'm here Han." Wedge's voice came back, through the cockpit Han could see the x-wing that had rode up with him peal of to the left and head for a cruiser hanging a few hundred meters away.  
  
"Good. When you get onboard, we want to set off straight away. We only have a few hours lead on Borak."  
  
"Got it." Wedge answered "So, you decided yet?" he asked. Han bit his lip and watched the smaller ship reach the cruisers hold.   
  
Chewie woofled softly beside him; they'd debated this on the way up: would they attack the cruiser Luke and Leia were on? Han didn't want to destroy it, but they couldn't just ignore it, not when it wouldn't be ignoring them.   
  
"I think we have to attack," he said into the comm "but not to destroy it. We need to find a way to take it out without destroying it."   
  
Wedge snorted "Yeah, piece of cake." he said, mock sarcastically.   
  
Chewie laughed beside. "Well, I never said it would be easy." Han said,  
  
"Whatever you say _General_."   
  
Han scowled at the title: he'd never liked being so _responsible_.   
  
The x-wing disappeared from sight inside the gaping mouth of the docking bay,   
  
"I'm there, lets get going."  
  
"Right, have a nice trip." Wedge cut off the comm.   
  
Han watched the cruiser swing around. He brought the _Falcon_ close to the hull of the other ship, went past the bridge, taking the front.   
  
"Ready Chewie?" he asked.   
  
Chewie howled. Han grinned "Yeah 'here we go again.'"   
  
Space blurred as the force shot into hyperspace.

Chapter two: dejavu

The weird thing about waking this time, Leia thought, was the sensation that she wasn't awake at all. All her senses were numbed and everything had a light-headed feeling to it, all the images drifting in and out of her consciousness, so that she couldn't get a real fix on anything.   
  
She tried to move her arm, but couldn't feel it. Whether she managed but couldn't feel it, or hadn't done anything at all, she didn't know.   
She couldn't feel much, reminding her of the few space walks she'd done in her life. She tried to study the view before her. She could just make out the two larger ssi-ruuk and the protocol droid in front of the bacta tank, discussing something. She thought she could also make out Luke in the tank, but wasn't sure. They seemed to be talking to him, and she was dimly aware of words being spoken, but she couldn't understand them. She didn't need to know what the conversation was to know what it had to be about; every so often a ssi-ruuk, and then the droid, would gesture in her direction as they spoke to Luke.   
  
It had to be similar conversation to the one she'd had with the blue ssi-ruuk on the bridge a few days earlier. And as much as she wanted Luke to refuse, she knew he wouldn't, no more than she had.   
  
The conversation ended as Leia's vision began to become clearer. She could make out Luke now and the surrounding circuitry, the tunnel vision clearing. The smaller brown ssi-rruk picked up something from the desk and walked toward her as the blue one spoke into their version of a comlink. The brown ssi-ruuk reached her and her eyes managed to focus on the hypodermic in it's hand. She tried to move backwards but none of her muscles responded as the alien ran a scanner over her. Apparently satisfied, it brought the needle to her upper arm. She never felt it enter her skin, but sense's flooded back to her. She blinked twice to get the stiffness out of her eyelids, before taking a first hesitant breath. Air rushed into her lungs and with it strength returned to her muscles. Her cheeks flushed and she heard an imaginary rushing noise as the blood surged back to her head. It was the sensation of coming out of hibernation, or seeing something with virgin eyes.   
  
She sat upright against the protest of her long unused muscles- how long had she been asleep anyway? She couldn't begin to guess as all days merged and she was sure the ssi-ruuk wouldn't run on Coruscant Time.  
  
Her eyesight back now, she could see Luke gazing at her, a queer melancholy in his eyes. There was a tangible air of anticipation in the room. The big blue ssi-ruuk approached her as the blast doors opened to admit two ssi-ruuk guards with a frightened p'w'eck in tow. The p'w'eck honked softly in confusion, eyes wide as it looked around the bay, before resting a pleading gaze on Leia. The look somehow conveyed a dread to her that made her shiver. The small brown alien worked off to the side as the big blue one watched from a distance. Leia looked over at Luke, and his face begged her not to ask.   
  
  
---  
  
  
At last, the brown alien moved forward to face Luke. A mixture of emotions spread in quick succession across Luke's face, before finally settling on determination. Or, at least, that's what she thought it was, but his sense in the Force was desperately trying to keep down a growing fear that was beginning to spread across him. Confused, she sat in silence, words sticking unpleasantly in her throat, as she dare not ask what she wanted to know. The blue alien moved closer to her,  
  
"President." he started, the tone of quiet excitation chilling "You know all that has happened since Cassrine, but you haven't seen it before. I would ask you to...remember my words to you on the bridge. And remember them well, because what happens next will not be for the first time, and will not be the last time. Do you understand?"   
  
His face was emotionless but his voice, even translated, held a note of menace in it. Leia swallowed hard, starting to feel the same fear that permeated Luke's sense. The ssi-ruuk's words could only mean one thing.  
  
"Yes."

_"Do you know that we can control his every action? That he is just a shell now. President, do you know just how many people your brother has killed in the last month?" _  
  
The words raced through her mind   
  
_"Any actions by you to either escape or sabotage, wont just affect how _you_ are treated. I hope that is understood."_

"Perfectly."  
  
The alien nodded and moved back before Luke.  
  
"Jedi Skywalker. This is just a test, but remember what we discussed earlier." Luke didn't bother to glare as his focus in the Force became clear and distinct. "Don't forget either, that any resistance will only hurt yourself." he wasn't even listening now, and Leia doubted that concern for his own safety could be further from his mind. She closed her eyes and concentrated on his presence in the Force as it became more and more diffuse, before finally disappearing. Confused she opened them again in time to see Luke look over at her. The noise of machinery in the room increased, barely audibly, but it thrummed through her like a funeral beat. Leia let her sense drift in the Force, waiting.  
  
Suddenly, the p'w'eck screamed in surprise, writhing in the grasp of the two guards. It's shriek shook her and Leia thumbled for a connection with Luke as the small alien began to scream louder. The Force tore through Luke's mind as he tried to hide from it. Awareness flooded his senses as his barriers crumbled and he couldn't stop it, his frustration and concentration not holding back the tide. He couldn't stop it as his mind reached out to touch the alien's. Leia strangled a scream at the terror in the alien's mind. She tried to rip free of the restraints, but they held, the hard metal biting into her skin. But that didn't matter, all that matter was an end to the screaming.   
  
Luke's mind found the alien's and suffocated it, enveloping and dragging it away. Leia watched in horror as both minds collided to become one. The pressure screamed at her, and she was dumbly aware of Luke and the alien screaming in unison.  
  
"Luke!" she wasn't sure if she screamed it or just thought it, but she tried to reach him through the haze of fire that coursed through her   
contact.   
  
Leia recoiled in shock, her eyes flying open. Some outside force seemed to clutch at the alien's sense locked with Luke's and tear the two apart. Luke's hands pressed against the side of the tank as he fought for concentration and stop himself from spiralling down with the terrified alien. The circuitry behind him came alive, writhing in a screen of blue static that struck out with sharp fingers across the board, the blue glow queerly complementing the bacta as the aliens energy arched through Luke.  
  
The contact snapped suddenly, the blue glow retreating backwards. Like an elastic band suddenly released, Luke sagged in the tank as the p'w'eck alien fell to the floor with a sickening thump.   
  
Leia forced herself to breath as the memory of her contact tore through her own consciousness. A cold sweat settled on her and chilled her as she sat still, eyes squeezed shut.   
  
The brown alien stepped over the p'w'eck and towards the tank. Leia forced her eyes away from the limp body and back upwards, though her head felt leaden and her senses stunned. She looked up at Luke, his eyes were shut and his head stayed bowed, hands still pressed against the tank sides. The ssi-ruuk reached the tank, and flicked through the machinery. "Luke?" her voice croaked like she'd been shouting.   
  
A comlink beeped, the blue ssi-ruuk answered before turning to the other and whistling, triumph in its voice. Leia closed them as out as she fought for calm.   
  
  
---  
  
  
The Admiral took a deep breath before stepping through the ornate doors and into the senate hall. The plush red interior was supposed to represent diplomacy, but to Admiral Ackbar it felt dangerous. All eyes turned on him as he stepped through the door and took his seat to the right of the huge circular table. Gaviscom, standing in for Leia as he often did, though not usually under these circumstances, stood at the head of the table and let his gaze wander over each and every member of the inner council. Council aides stood hushed in the background, blending with the grand statues the decorated the room. Sunset on Coruscant flooded through the huge windows at the far end of the room. Borak's seat was empty.  
  
The Admiral sat down stiffly as the other members of the council did likewise, a hushed expectancy descended on the room as they waited for the temporary president to speak.  
  
"Admiral Ackbar, perhaps you would like to tell us why we have been brought here?" Gaviscom asked pleasantly. Pleasantly, but without any of the usual rituals.There would be no running around the subject, and for once Ackbar wished for the senate's usual protocols.   
  
"Of course. It concerns the situation out at the Sele system." Ackbar answered.  
  
One of the other senators spoke up "Indeed? Then perhaps you would like to start by telling us here our Chief of State is? Or for that matter, her husband and several carriers and snub ships which have been taken off duty?"   
  
So they knew then. Well, that would save a lot of time.   
  
"It is for that reason that I called you here today. I fear that the ssi-ruuk situation is far worse than you all presume."  
  
"We don't presume anything, Admiral." another Senator bristled, "That is why we sent our own reconnaissance group out to investigate"  
  
"With all due respect, Senator, I don't think that group will be coming back." Acbkar said.  
  
"Why do you say that Admiral?" Gaviscom asked  
  
"For one thing, the ssi-ruuk far out gun them and-"  
  
"We have been through this before. It was decided that we should be cautious. What has been decided cannot be retracted."~  
  
"Not even when we know we had a spy in our midst?"   
  
"That makes no difference. We must wait for a report from senator Borak's group"  
  
"And suppose it is too late by then? The ssi-ruuk are moving fast on New Republic space, and they are becoming better armed by the day. We cannot afford to wait."  
  
"But we must. We-" Gaviscom quietened the group by holding up a hand.  
  
"What are you suggesting Admiral?"  
  
"Just this: that we prepare a group to be ready to attack if we need to. We know their next targets. After Slastare, the targets are not minor. Next is Cador, it has a population of over 5 million, then the shipping port of Minist, with over 6 million on the surface and countless stations and colonies on the moons. Then Bosse, a large mining colony of over 20 million-"  
  
"Are we certain of this?"  
  
"Very. And the battle plan is moving fast. Less than 1 day to Slastare, an average of 3 days between each attack..."  
  
The senate hall was suddenly quite. "Can the carrier group destroy them before they get the chance to attack?"  
  
"The whole fleet? No. In fact, I don't believe the group has any intention of returning."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I believe councillor Borak is on a vengeance mission. They wont be returning."  
  
"A suicide mission? But the Chief of State..." the room was quite.  
  
"Admiral, leave us for a while to discuss this further. I believe we have new considerations to take into account." Gaviscom said. "Thank you. Please, we can stop them, if we act now." Ackbar rose from his seat, and with a nod to Gaviscom, he left the stuffy room.   
  
  
  
---  
  
  
Han leaned back in the leather chair, legs propped up on the control board in front of him. He dozed lightly, the hyperspace background having an odd hypnotic effect. Behind him he could here the clanging of Chewie forcing another of the _Falcon's_ systems to work. He checked the chrono. It had been a long journey but now they only had half a day left. He stretched out his arms and let out a tired yawn.   
  
He might as well try and sleep first.   
  
  
---  
  
  
"Admiral, we will reach Slastare within the next ten hours." Fr'h'tokh tried not to flinch from the Admiral's steely gaze.  
  
"Good. I don't want anymore interruptions."  
  
"There won't be any more problems sir, our offensive is well on schedule."  
  
  
---  
  
A swarm of small cruisers hung warily in the outer Slastare system. Their hulls bristled with gunports, warmed up and ready. They floated conspicuously behind the system's outer planets, waiting for just a few more hours before the command ship would arrive and they could attack.  
  
  
---   
  
  
Leia relaxed and tried to reach the Force, stretching out to Luke's presence.   
  
_Luke??_ His sense stirred from a weary sleep.  
  
_Leia?_ He paused, not sure how to ask her _Are you okay?  
  
Luke... I... I'm sorry._ She said.  
  
_What for?  
  
I didn't realise. I'd hoped that...maybe._ She was stuck for words _I guess I hoped you might be able to stop it._  
  
Luke's reply contained a kind of sad humour _I'm sorry, too. Sorry that I can't stop it. And I've tried, Leia.  
  
I know_ she paused _Luke-  
  
Don't ask me to do that Leia._ Luke's thoughts cut in _You know I cant.  
  
I'm willing to risk it, Luke. You escaped last time when you tried to entech Corran. Maybe if you try and entech me_ Luke sighed. He couldn't do it.   
  
_Leia, you don't understand -if I fail. If I cant stop it then you--_ he couldn't say it. She swallowed, quieting.   
  
_Leia, the last time I escaped......it was because of Corran, but I doubt they wont have fixed that.._  
  
She sat quietly, a sense of cold running through her.  
  
_I know. I just.......I cant just sit here and watch._ she choked, the memory of the limp body of that p'w'eck stinging her mind.   
  
_There is one thing you could do._ he said, trepidation in his sense.  
  
_What?..._ Leia almost daren't ask.  
  
_Earlier, while you were asleep, they explained that they..well, they don't want a repeat of Sele4. If anything looks like its going....wrong, then they have a switch that will replace the oxygen supply with something a little more...toxic_  
  
Leia froze, realising what he was asking her. _Luke. I cant.  
  
It needs their claw print, but if you get free...  
  
I... _her mind faltered_.  
  
Think about it.  
  
  
---  
  
  
_The large blast doors swooshed open and the Fr'h'tokh strode through. Swh'hr'ring waddled up to greet him, trying to mask his excitement.   
  
"Greetings elder, are we arrived?" he said, bowing low before hurrying to a bench and searching for something.  
  
"We're moving past the outer planets now. The humans have their defences up, so far we've only encountered a few scouting missions, though." Swh'hr'ring stopped.  
  
"They knew we were coming?" he asked, puzzled.  
  
"Yes. Never trust a human spy." Fr'h'tokh answered. "It won't be a problem. Are you ready?"  
  
"Very." he moved over to the bacta tank. The woman placed an icy stare on him as he approached it.   
  
"Good, a few more minutes and then we'll begin." Swh'hr'ring flicked switches and Skywalker's eyes fluttered lightly.   
  
Swh'hr'ring turned back to face the Elder "Yes sir." he said.   
  
Fr'h'tokh nodded and moved back towards the door "I'll conduct the battle from the bridge. Keep me posted."   
  
Swh'hr'ring bowed low as the elder left the entechment bay.

Chapter three: Instigation 

Luke floated lightly, waiting. His body was still numb from the entechment and the lasting effects of the sedative the ssi-ruuk used. At any other time, he would have been able to resist a drug, but he was weary, and the implant controlled his Force sense now. Whenever he tried to connect on his own, he felt like he was flailing blindly. It was an odd feeling; he hadn't been without the Force for years now, and to have it snatched away left a gaping hole in his consciousness.   
  
The aliens watched his face anxiously. Maybe if he pretended he was still asleep they would leave him alone.   
  
It was a childish hope. A hiding-under-the-duvet philosophy, but he didn't have a lot of grown-up ideas left.   
  
This had to be one of the strangest enemies he'd ever met: fighting his own mind, and knowing he could never win. But he had to try; he couldn't just give up, though his aching body begged him to.   
  
The brown alien moved over to a workstation and flicked up the tactical display. It couldn't be long at all now, then.   
  
He squeezed his eyes at the memory of the p'w'ecks' fear as his mind had smothered it rose back up again.   
  
And it would happen again. And again. And again and again and again. And there was nothing he could do.   
  
He felt Leia's look at him and opened his eyes. She gazed gently back at him with a reassuring smile.   
  
This time it would be different. Now Leia was here. Maybe she could help him. He didn't want to submit her to it but if together they could stop it...or at least slow it down...well that would be something.   
  
  
---  
  
  
The huge ovoid cruiser hung over the fiery gas giant. Small black ships swarmed up from the surface to face it, silhouetted against the angry red atmosphere. The smaller cruisers hung protectively around the larger ship, forming up and riding shotgun. The cruiser closed in slowly on the stations that hung vulnerable above the planet, simple mining stations with few defences. The ships cut through space, turbolaser emplacements snapping open, the air in them crystalising into space.   
  
The small fighters accelerated up from the planets surface, joined by the few that scattered out of the stations docking bays, approaching warily. The ssi-ruuk fleet hung back a few hundred meters from the first station. The guns charged and a streak of deadly red light sprang forwards from the front ship, leaping for the station.   
  
The lower docking pylon exploded in fireball that engulfed the lower end of the station. The fighters leaped forwards like angered vornskers and threw themselves in fury at the ssi-ruuk ships. The battle for Slastare had begun.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Luke shied from the Force as the hull began to ring with turbolaser fire. It's energy enveloped him again even as he tried to abandon it.   
  
The protocol droid approached him, gold glinting off the bacta. Luke closed his eyes and began to throw up barriers, just as he had before. Like before, they crumbled to nothing as his own mind took them down faster than he could build him. Leia's sense joined him, the warmth of her contact encouraging. She wrapped the barriers protectively around him, hiding them both from the outside.   
For one, desperate moment Luke thought it was going to work, but the implant stripped them, layer by layer and with a mental shove, Leia fell away from him.  
  
"Luke" her voice was just a whisper. His mind stretched out now to the cold of space, searching.   
  
She tried to reach him, fingernails digging deep welts into her palm "Luke!"  
  
His mind found the contact. Confusion and terror tore through his mind as the pilot of the small craft panicked. Luke's mind took hold and pulled. The power was rough and cruel but it worked; the man's mind ripped free, his body dying instantly. His consciousness collapsed backwards into Luke's, the energy channelling through him. He bit back a scream as their minds collided, the pressure tearing at him. The circuitry snapped into action. Blue tendrils of light raced over him, ripping free the man's consciousness from Luke and pulling it back through him. The contact broke, the sudden release making Luke's mind recoil. His head burned with a fury, and he channelled the Force back through his head gasping. The pain wasn't as bad as it had been before: they must have improved it. Dimly, he heard Leia calling his name.   
  
He gasped for breath. The golden droid approached again.  
  
  
---  
  
  
The small fighter craft streaked across the huge cruisers hull, reflected light blinding. Commander Ledu fought to keep the small craft from crashing into it's sides. Four of those small black ships came up behind her and gave chase,  
  
"Blue Leader, you've got a tail!" someone shouted in her ear.  
  
"I know. These things are too damn fast." She swore as the craft's shots got closer, got mild satisfaction when they missed her and hit the cruiser instead. She took the ship closer, the hull racing past her cockpit.   
  
The droids stopped firing as they realised they were hitting their own ship. "All right!" she grinned, pumping all the energy she could to   
the shields. But she was running out of hull already.   
  
She watched the edge approach, desperately thinking. From nowhere, a small black ship appeared on top of her and fired. Before she had time to even think about firing back, her control board exploded in sparks that flew up into her face. "I'm hit!" she called, struggling to control the wild craft as it spun out of control, the stars swirling in front of her. The controls bucked out of her grip, the fighter spinning closer to the hull.   
  
"Blue Leader!! Hang on! We're on our way." Blue Two shouted  
  
She gritted her teeth and clung to the controls tighter. The fighter was approaching the aft docking bay now, the ship close enough to the hull to read part numbers. The gaping mouth of the bay came in sight; it would be close but she was going to miss it.   
  
"Stay Back!" she called into the pickup. Her squadron ignored her: three fighters appeared on her scope, racing frantically after her. "I said, stay-" she cut off, gasping. She could see inside the bay now. Hundreds of the small black ships lined the inside, just sitting there, waiting.  
  
"Sweet mercy..." she whispered.  
  
"Say again, Blue Leader?"  
  
"I found the nest!" she called "Form up and attack that docking bay!" she shouted as her ship flew past.  
  
"Aye, Sir!"  
  
If they could just destroy that bay...her ship sparked again, throwing her concentration off. The ship lurched and dived for the bay.  
"Blue Leader!"  
  
She threw her eyes up and didn't look as the ship became engulfed in flames. She screamed as the ship hurtled for the deck, her cries cut short as the ship hit the floor and disintegrated, engulfing the bay in flames.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Blue two watched Blue Leader's ship blow up and swallowed back his swears.   
  
"Come on guys, let's finish off what she started." He said, grief turning to resolve.   
  
"Aye, Sir." was the grim reply. Their ships raced towards the bay. The huge doors began to shut, achingly slow but slow enough that   
they would never make it.   
  
"Use your torpedoes!" he shouted, fingers moving rapidly across his control board to arm his own. A cluster of black ships swarmed in   
on them as the doors shut.   
  
He fired two torpedoes, held his breath as he waited for an impact, but they exploded harmlessly against the surface of the doors   
  
"What the hell is that thing made of?!" he cried.  
  
"You've got a tail!"  
  
"We've all got tails." he replied, trying to get enough room to turn the ship around. Beside him, a fireball engulfed one of their fighters.   
  
He tried not to look. He battled with the control stick, firing blindly at the small black specks that kept on coming. Another ship exploded to his right. He swore, poring energy into their shields. "Die you ba-" his ship exploded.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Leia sat tensely, her fists clenched.   
  
She felt sick, all this death around her.   
  
The battle was going badly, she could make that out from the tactical display. The small brown alien was ecstatic, working furiously on picking new targets. Luke's sense was despondent and weary. They had tried everything and Leia could do nothing to help. He fought frantically, but it didn't work.   
  
Suddenly, alarms shrieked through the ship, lights flickering and turning red. The ssi-ruuk honked frantically, jumping for the comm. Luke relaxed against the side of the tank, breathing deeply. The alarms quieted and the larger ssi-ruuk rushed from the entechment bay, its emotion tinged with panic. Maybe the battle wasn't going as badly as she had thought.   
  
The golden droid approached again. Leia relaxed into the Force again.   
  
  
---   
  
  
The proximity signal blared. Han got a hold of the hyperspace levers and watched the countdown.  
  
"Ready, Chewie?" he asked. Chewie howled at him and nodded eagerly "Yeah, I could do with some action too" he agreed with his partner. The countdown reached zero and he pulled the levers back slowly. Realspace reappeared, the starlines collapsing back into stars.  
  
Chewie howled as the _Falcon _ploughed through the middle of a battle field. Han swore and grabbed the controls, aiming up and away from the firefight. Stray turbolaser fire scrapped against the ship as the _Falcon _sprang forward like a startled mynock, running away from the battle, only slightly bruised. Han turned the ship around and saw the rest of his carrier group reappear. They scattered away from the fight, spraying out in different directions. A few didn't make it.  
  
"I think we're a little late." Han said, flicking on the comm.. "This is General Solo, form up with me." He said, assessing the battle from his vantage point. There were a hell of a lot of small black ships and not too many fighters. Half of one of the stations was missing. Han whistled softly.   
  
"I'd say we're very late."  
  
"Han! Are we joining in or what?" Wedge asked, Rogue Squadron climbing up to meet them.   
  
"Yeah, listen up guys!" he called back, watching the Republic fighters buzz the huge cruiser that dominate the sky,   
  
"Go for the smaller ships and watch out for those little black fighters. Remember what we said about their shields." He said.  
  
"Han, we should attack the main cruiser..." Wedge said on the private comm as the new republic reinforcements dived back down to join in the battle.   
  
"I've no idea where Luke of Leia are on that ship. We can't risk it." he said, bringing the _Falcon_ back into the fray.  
  
"All right, but when Borak's group arrives they'll be going straight for it -you realise that don't you?"  
  
"Yeah. We'll have to cross that when we get there." Han answered. Small black ships surged towards the newcomers. He flicked of the comm and concentrated on flying.   
  
  
---  
  
  
Luke's eyes flew open and he turned to stare at Leia. The look of dread on his face chilled her. Her mouth was dry as she stretched out to him through the Force.  
  
_Luke?_ She didn't get a reply: the entechment circuitry reached out again. She looked over to the tactical display, trying to find out what had shocked him. Ssi-ruuk ships were disappearing; disappearing fast.   
  
She stared, confused. How had they turned the battle around? The brown ssi-ruuk was leaning over the display, hopping agitatedly and talking frantically into the comm. It worked the controls, centring on the area where the most damage had been done. Had the Slastare ships found a way through their defences? The ssi-ruuk brought up the scans from one of the battle droids. Leia watched the footage, hopeful. Stars streaked past; it was all in a sickening red colour, strange alien script scrolling along the bottom. Suddenly, from the left, a ship appeared in it's scopes. Leia's heart froze when she saw it. Despite the queer red readout, it was unmistakably the _Falcon_.   
  
"No." she choked, looking up at Luke. Blue tendrils spread out from the machinery. He struggled, hands straining against the side of the tank.   
  
"No!!!" she cried. The alien turned to look at her, shocked by her sudden outburst. "Luke!" she ignored the aliens strange warbling. The tendrils moved away and he sagged. She stretched out to him, eyes closed. _Luke!_ He recognised her touch and let her in.   
  
Han was out there. And Chewie and Rogue Squadron. With Luke, she could sense their presence. She felt fear rising up in her.  
  
_They're okay, Leia._ Luke said in her mind. Or at least, that's what it felt like, though there weren't any words.  
  
She opened her eyes again, biting back the fear angrily. She needed to think.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Han cheered as another battle droid blew up "All right!! Nice going!" he called to the gunners in the _Falcons'_ gun ports. Five more appeared in front of them, bearing down on them. Han put the _Falcon_ into a power climb and spun it back around the way they had been going, diving at the last moment. Two of the droids collided with those that had been chasing the Falcon originally, the rest scattered in confusion. The _Falcon_ sped away from the wreckage.  
  
Han found a clear bit of space and checked on the rest of the carrier group; Rogue Squadron were in the thick of it, surrounded by a large group of the droids.  
  
"Han-" wedge started to say through the comm..  
  
"Hang on Wedge, we're coming." Han banked the ship around and headed towards the ships.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Leia could hear her heartbeat in her ears. She was waiting, waiting for the droid to approach again. The ssi-ruuk were having a hurried conversation in the corner. It was only a matter of time. Leia looked over at the tactical display: it wasn't going so well; the group had lost their surprise.  
  
_Leia?_ She looked over at Luke. The droid was approaching. Leia's heart beat faster. She held her breath, waiting still.   
On the tactical display, the scope pinpointed the Falcon. She forced herself to relax and help Luke. She tried to find calm and reach out to him. He accepted her help.  
  
The droid pronounced the Falcon's doom.   
  
Luke's barriers went up again, stronger than before. He put all his energy into it. The tide of the Force washed against them but the barriers held. The held on tighter. The Force tried to drag them outwards, pulling on Luke's mind to let go. The barriers held but Luke was weak, the energy draining. At last, like they always did, the barriers began to fall  
  
"No!" she heard herself say, grabbing on tighter to the contact. But it didn't help, their protection dissolved and the Force swelled around them. Luke stretched out to space, found the Falcon.  
  
"No!"  
  
Suddenly, his mind lit up, an idea forming. His hope was infectious; she fought harder to stay with him.  
  
_What?_   
  
He didn't explain, instead, he tried to avoid the _Falcon_. His mind swerved towards it.   
  
The ship was surrounded by small fighter craft buzzing it. The shields were low. They were stuck in the centre of a group of battle droids with Rogue Squadron.  
  
Leia's fingers dug into the arms of the chair as she fought to stay with him.   
  
  
---  
  
  
Luke pushed away from the contact of the Falcon, and towards the battle droids that surrounded the ship. Last time he'd been on board, he'd been able to control enteched circuits when they were close...  
  
His mind brushed Han, Leia's panic wrapped itself around him like cotton wool and he fell towards the contact.   
  
Realising what was happening, her felt her fight for calm, trying to pull him back.   
  
Luke minds touched Han's, he struggled, pushing desperately away. The contact wasn't strong enough for Han to realise what was happening yet, Luke forced his mind away, achingly slow, and found one of the battle droids. He channelled the energy of the contact into the droids circuits.  
  
It recognised him. Confused but obedient, it let him in.  
  
And like before he sent them a simple command:  
  
_move away move away move away_.   
  
The ship moved with startling speed, racing off in the opposite direction and crashing into it's neighbour, both of them becoming engulfed in flames. Luke gasped as her felt the fire burn him before the contact closed.  
  
Leia's elation threatened to weaken his concentration again but he clung on: found the next droid.  
  
_move!_  
  
It shot away from the field, colliding violently with a small cruiser.   
  
_move move move..._  
  
One by one the ships collided.  
  
  
---  
  
  
"What the hell...?" Han asked, rubbing at a slight headache in his temples. A minute ago they had been surrounded by the battle droids, now the things were smashing into each other, turning space into a burning mass of debree. Han fired into the crowd of droids, had the satisfaction of seeing a few more explode  
  
"What...?"  
  
  
---  
  
  
Swh'hr'ring worked the controls frantically. Skywalker was supposed to be enteching the ships, instead the droids were blowing up.   
  
Fr'h'tokh's angry voice sounded on the comm, "Swh'hr'ring, what's happening?" he demanded.  
  
"I don't know, Elder!" he looked over at the Jedi woman, her eyes were closed but she was smiling. Ecstatically.   
  
"The droids are blowing up! Stop the entechment!"  
  
"Elder, we don't know if it is Skywalker."  
  
"Stop it now!"  
  
"Yes, Elder."  
  
Leia could have cried with relief as the ships began crashing into each other. The _Falcon_ joined in, blowing a few more away. They were still out numbered but if this continued-   
  
Suddenly, the contact snapped. The sudden vacuum stung her mind and Leia had the sick feeling of being dragged downwards. Her stomach churned as she spiralled down. Panicking, she lost contact with the Force. Her eyes flew open, she saw Luke do the same, biting back a cry as the shock raced through his muscles. She held her breath waiting for the blue energy to appear.   
It never did.   
  
Confused, she looked around, and suddenly understood. The aliens had shut off the circuitry. They must have realised what was happening. She looked over at the tactical display. More ships moved in on the _Falcon_.  
  
_Han!  
  
  
---  
  
  
_Han didn't understand it, but he wasn't about to let it pass. He fired back furiously as the ships collided. "Han...?" Wedge asked in his ear  
  
"Yeah, Wedge. Any idea what the hell's going on out there?" he asked, blowing another of the ships to expensive scrap.  
  
"Corran thinks it might be Luke." Wedge said, pausing to fire at another of the ships.  
  
"Luke? How?"   
  
"I don't know." Corran put in, "But it's definitely him, and Leia."   
  
"Yeah, that'd be right." he paused "They okay?"  
  
Corran paused for just a little too long "Yeah, their okay." he said hesitantly.  
  
"What does that mean-" he cut-off, suddenly, staring suspiciously into space. The droids had stopped colliding and were just sat still.   
  
"Uh-oh." he whispered. "I have a bad feeling about this."  
More ships appeared off in the distance, approaching fast. "Wedge, can you get out?" He asked, searching for a way out for the falcon.  
  
"No. We're still trapped." he replied tightly.  
  
The new ships came in firing, the _Falcon_ rocked with turbolaser fire. Han tried to manoeuvre, but there wasn't enough room, debris and ships cluttering space.  
  
He looked over at Chewie, "Any ideas?" he asked. One of the ships dived straight for them. There was nowhere to go. Han held his breath. The ship blew up in front of them, spraying debris and flak in a hail across the cockpit screen. More of the little ships blew up around them. Han grabbed the controls and sent the _Falcon_ shooting out of the wreckage.   
  
A flame red craft joined him. "Solo? Having a few problems?" the pilot asked.  
  
"Not if you keep showing up at just the right time, Jade." Han replied gratefully. Laughter came across the comm as the ships climbed for free space.

  
Chapter Four: Faith in Your Friends is a Strength

Mara flew the _Jade's Fire_ close to the Falcon, flying it out of the wreckage and into the relative safety of clear space. A group of x-wings shot past her, heading deeper. She swung the ship around, waiting for the rest of Karrde's group to form up with her.  
  
"You got my message then?" Han said through her comm. She reached over and flicked it on before answering,  
  
"Yeah, you're lucky we're here, Karrde wasn't going help." she said, firing off a shot at a nearby droid.  
  
"Then why are you here? Did you use that infamous charm on him?" Han asked, with only the slightest hint of sarcasm in his voice.  
  
She snorted "Hardly. Ave's convinced him."  
  
"Ahh. Well, thanks anyway." Han said  
  
"No problem. Let's just say you owe me one." She said. Han looked out the cockpit at the array of fighters Mara had brought with her, as well as a few smaller cruisers. He whistled softly "How many of you are there anyway?"  
  
"Not that many, I'm afraid. All that Karrde could throw together." she paused "So, what's the plan?" she asked. Two groups of the small droids raced towards them, Mara twisted her ship to the left, firing off a barrage of fire before twisting away from the turbolasers and coming up behind them. Han twisted the _Falcon_ right, and joined her, blowing the ships up before they had time to react.  
  
"I'm open to suggestions." Han said as the last one blew up and another group headed their way   
  
"How long till Boraks' group arrives?" she asked.  
  
"Less than an hour, I'd say," he answered. Chewie woofled softly, "or less."  
  
"We need to get onboard." she said, no question in her voice.  
  
"Can you sense Luke?" he asked, hoping she might be able to give a better idea of where they were on the huge cruiser.  
  
"Yes, and Leia. She's fine, Luke isn't so good, but he's okay. And before you ask, I can't pinpoint them exactly. They're near the aft section, though." she said, her voice tight as she concentrated.   
  
"We can't just wander around the ship. We need to know where they are." He said.  
  
"I know."  
  
  
---  
  
  
Leia held her breath as a new group of fighters appeared and joined the battle, the _Falcon_ blasting away to safety. Luke looked over at her and smiled.   
  
_Mara_ he said.   
  
What was she doing here?   
  
_Can you contact her?_ She thought/asked.  
  
Luke seemed reluctant to try it, but the entechment circuitry was off...he relaxed back into the Force, he was weak, but he could just make the contact.  
  
_Mara?_   
  
_Luke? Are you okay?_ She asked, concentrating on flying at the same time.  
  
_Yes._ Even he could hear the lie.  
  
_We're going to try and get onboard, but we don't know where you are._ She said.   
  
Luke hung suspended in the bacta, trying to think of a way to help. He looked across at the tactical screen. The battle droids were being destroyed, but not fast enough. They wouldn't make it. Suddenly, a new sensor reading came in from one of the droids, scrolling data across the screen...and just as suddenly, Luke knew what to do,  
  
_Hang on; I've got an idea._ He said, breaking the contact. He stretched out to space again, the turmoil rushing through the Force. Pilots and ssi-ruuvi panicked thoughts ran through the Force, obscuring it. He found one of the battle droids and channelled the Force into it...it should still work, with the entechment circuitry off, it had when he'd escaped over Sele4...  
The droid recognised him and let him in. Now, if they could send information to the cruiser, presumably, they could download it to.   
  
Hoping it would work, he tried to get it to break into the main computer files.   
  
It wasn't easy, the sensation of controlling the machinery was odd. He'd never done anything like it before, using the Force to control it. At last, the contact was made. Hopefully, there would be so much traffic the ssi-ruuk wouldn't notice the little droid downloading the schematics of the ship...  
  
The download was achingly slow, and Luke began to fear they'd been found out. It completed and Luke moved to get the droid to break the contact, the contact wouldn't break, instead, the droid moved further into the controls, finding the simple systems. Luke' s panic at not being able to break out dissolved as an idea hit him. Searching he found the temperature controls and, just fractionally, turned them up. The contact broke and the droid systems returned to space.   
  
Leia's questioning sense joined his own.   
  
Finding the _Falcon_ amongst the turmoil, he sent the little droid a message to transmit to the ship before giving the droid a final order;  
  
_Transmit...  
  
_  
---  
  
  
The _Falcon's_ control board beeped.  
  
"What...?" Han asked looking over at the flashing light, suddenly suspicious. He looked over at Chewie, who just shrugged. It was the private comm channel; only a few people knew about it. Tentatively, he reached over and flicked it on. Immediately, the system began download, binary scrolling across the screen.   
  
"Chewie, look at this." Han said, staring in disbelief at the download. It was the schematics of the cruiser. Chewie woofeld softly with suspicion  
  
"I don't know, wait a minute there's a message tagged on the end. ' destroy the temperature controls. ' There's a string of numbers on the end...AA- 589. What does that mean?" he asked.  
  
"Mara?" he said onto the comm.  
  
"Yeah, I'm here" she answered  
  
"Any idea what AA-589 means?" Han asked, still staring at the message. Two sections on the schematic were highlighted now. One was up near the bridge, the other was right in the middle of the ship, towards the aft.   
  
"AA-589? No....wait, isn't that Luke's x-wing registration?" she asked.  
  
"I don't know...hang on." he ran it through the computer's files "Yep, that's it. Which means the message is from Luke."   
  
"Or from someone who wants us to think it is Luke." Mara put in.  
  
"How would he get a message off anyway?" He agreed, waited for a reply, didn't get one.   
  
"Mara?" he asked again, looking worriedly over at Chewie.  
  
"Han, it is from Luke." She said, her voice sounding distant.  
  
"How do you know?" he asked, already really knowing the answer.  
  
"I just know."   
  
_Another of those Jedi things. _  
  
"What does it say?" she asked.  
  
"Hang on, I'll send it to you." he said, keying the _Falcon_ to transmit.   
  
She whistled softly "Where did he get that?" she asked.   
  
"I don't know, but if we're going to trust it, we should do it soon. Why the temperature controls and not the system?" he wondered out loud.  
  
"Because he's already turned the temperature up." Mara said, flatly.  
  
"How do you know- never mind. If we destroyed the system, they'd freeze." Han pointed out.  
  
"Yeah, except its kind of hard to transmit heat into space. They'd take too long too freeze, even for lizards. Heating them up is going to be much quicker."  
  
"Point." he did a quick scan of the area, "The cruisers drifting very close to the planet." he said worriedly.  
  
"It's probably close enough to be in it's shadow." Mara agreed.  
  
"Hmmm"  
  
"Your thinking. Come on, what is it?"   
  
"I don't know. Just an idea. Let's take out those controls."  
  
  
---  
  
  
The _Falcon_ followed the _Jade's Fire_ back into the thick of battle, forcing their way through to the huge cruiser that was skirting close to the upper atmosphere of the massive gas giant, well in the planets shadow, the whole ship having a queer red shine from the red gases.   
  
"They're getting a bit close to the atmosphere, aren't they?" Mara said into the comm, eyeing the battle warily.  
  
"I don't suppose the ssi-ruuk would choose to go that low." Han put in. "Hopefully they're having a few problems down there." he said stiffly,   
  
"I don't get anything from the sensors." Mara replied.  
  
"Well, it doesn't matter, just don't go too low." Han said, dropping the _Falcon_ close to the planet's gravity well. This close to the gravity well, there would be no chance it jump back to hyperspace if they needed to. But, then, Han had no intention of taking his eyes of that ship, so it didn't matter.   
  
The ships, flanked by a group of Karrde's fighters, Z-95's for the most part, tore through the battle, taking the glancing fire from the battle droids whilst the _Falcon_ and _'Fire_ made it through unhindered.  
  
"Keep it close to the hull, they won't want to shoot at their own ship." Mara advised, bringing the _'Fire_ within a stones through of the ship, gunmetal grey hull displaying a striking mosaic of red and orange from the planets noxious atmosphere, streaking past blindingly fast.   
She didn't look at it, but concentrated on the area near the bridge, which the schematics had highlighted. The _Falcon_ followed her down, flying close to her wing.   
  
Mara set the photon torpedoes and kept her eyes open for any suicidal battle droids. She reached out through the Force, making the contact as strong as she dare whilst flying this close to the hull.  
  
_Luke_  
  
She got a faint reply: they weren't too late. Yet.   
  
She cranked up the acceleration and the ship pushed her back in her seat as it sped for the far end of the cruiser.   
  
  
---  
  
  
The _'Fire_ streaked across the hull in front of him as Han readied his own torpedoes, setting the ship up for an automatic lock as soon as they were in range. Turbolaser fire stretched out from the hulls surface, but they were coming in far too fast to be caught them. Han thought briefly of that first Death Star trench. Hopefully, this target would be a little easier to hit.   
  
The computer beeped frantically: they had a lock. Han clenched his fingers around the controls, eyeing Chewie warily. Chewie woofled softly as ahead of him the _'Fire _dropped suddenly, two sharp points of light blazing away from it as Mara climbed hard for space to give Han a clear shot. His fingers jabbed on the fire controls, two streaks sprinting from the _Falcon_. He grasped the controls and pealed away fast, at the same time watching for an explosion. Fire plumed out from the cruiser's hull, grabbing out for the _Falcon_. Han held on and they shot through the fireball before loosing the ship's hull altogether and joining Mara. 

  
---  
  
  
"It's a hit!" Mara called over the comm, sweeping the _'Fire_ around for a better look, the _Falcon_ shot from the explosion like a startled mynock, and looping over to match her vector.  
  
"Did we get it?" Han asked over the comm. Mara hurriedly checked the sensors for a better look.   
  
"I think so." she replied. There was a gaping hole where the temperature controls had been.   
  
The _Falcon_ suddenly shot out from under her, heading back towards the cruiser.  
  
"Solo! Where are you going?" She called,   
  
"I've got an idea." Han's voice came back, the sound of his wookie co-pilot strongly objecting coming over the receiver, too.  
  
"What!" she called over the confusion. The _Falcon_ swept in low and fired again, only this time on an area close to the last target, but not the same place. The _Falcon_ swept up and away again, settling into place beside her as the explosion died,  
  
"What was all that about?" she asked, a little angry.  
  
"When we came in low I recognised some of the circuitry down there." Han started to explain, "There is -_was_- an array down there that I recognised from the old Star Destroyers-"  
  
"Star Destroyers? Wait a minute, what are ssi-ruuk doing with imperial technology?" Mara put in, puzzled,  
  
"I don't know, maybe the Emperor's deal at Bakura went deeper than we thought. Or Borak gave away more than we know about. It doesn't matter; the point is that sensor array I just blew up is -_was_- the Sensor Automatic Realignment Centre."  
  
"So?" she asked, still not getting it  
  
"Think about it, we'll be crossing the terminator in a few minutes...." Han left the thought unfinished-  
  
And suddenly, Mara got it. She inhaled sharply. The SARC unit would normally counteract the effects of the sudden light intensity increase when they crossed over, only now it was a pile of twisted scrap metal. When they came around, all the sensors would lock off.   
The ssi-ruuk would be blind.   
  
"You planning on sneaking on board when the lights go out?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah, you got it." he replied, angling the _Falcon_ towards one of the closer docking ports that was near to the second area highlighted on the blueprints.  
  
"Wait a minute- even with the sensors down you cant get in threw the docking bay. That's suicide." She warned stiffly,  
  
"Not the docking bay; there's a small service bay next to it, see?" he said. She brought up the schematics again, and there was indeed a small hatch there. "The _Falcon_ can use the landing claw to grip onto the hull."  
  
"The _'Fire_ doesn't have one" Mara pointed out sourly,  
  
"That's okay; your not coming in anyway." Han said, she opened her mouth to protest, but Han cut her off, "I need you out here, Borak's group will arrive an minute, and someone has to slow them down." Mara kept quite, complaints dying in the face of his logic,  
  
"Okay, but be careful." she said, checking the chrono "You've got one minute." she said  
  
"I'm ready." was the curt reply.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Fr'h'tokh paced uneasily across the bridge. It was getting uncomfortably hot in here, the heat of battle hitting them all. And the humans were up to something. He could feel it.   
  
He walked over to the sensor controls and leaned to watch the two small ships streak within a few meters of the ships' hull. He didn't like it.   
  
"Get more battle droids onto them." he instructed the technician before wandering back to stare out the view screen. Tendrils of noxious red gases reached across from the huge gas giant they were skimming, the Slastare sun was blocked by the huge bulk of the planet obscuring their view. Fr'h'tokh didn't like being this close to the planet, but the ship should be able to hold its ground here.   
There was something else on his mind too: Skywalker. He was tempted to order Swh'hr'ring to kill the Jedi: they didn't need any more problems at the moment.   
  
But...No.  
  
A lot of hard work had gone into the capture of Skywalker, and he was not about to waste all that effort. It went against the Admiral's orders that Skywalker should be terminated at the first sign of any trouble, but so be it. If Swh'hr'ring couldn't get the entechment circuitry back up again soon however...well that was different.   
  
Suddenly a plume of fire rose forward of the ship, the bridge crew jumped in surprise as the two ships shot into view.  
  
"What was that!?" Fr'h'tokh called to his sensor crew,  
  
"Sir! I don't know! They don't seem to have hit anything important-"  
  
"They're coming round for another pass." Someone shouted. Fr'h'tokh braced himself for another hit. There was a dull thud as the larger ship scored another hit and climbed to be free of the volley of turbolaser shots that followed it.  
  
"Report!" he called over the confusion.  
  
"Sir, they...they don't seem to be hitting anything vital." the technician replied nervously, trepidation in his voice.  
  
Had the humans made a mistake? He didn't think that likely.   
  
Fr'h'tokh rushed over to the station and took a look for himself: they were indeed minor systems they had lost. It didn't make sense.   
Suddenly, bright white light flooded the bridge. The bridge crew whistled in terror as the blinding light dazzled them. Fr'h'tokh threw up a claw to cover his eyes from the glare. The light didn't cease.  
  
"Turn off the view screen!" he called over the panic. Several ssi-ruuk lay on the floor, clutching at their heads. One crawled for the opps console and smashed a claw down onto the controls. The sudden lack of light was striking; Fr'h'tokh rubbed his eyes, working the spots out of them as stars danced in front of him. When he opened them, the view screen was grey like the rest of the walls. He pulled himself shakily to his feet and lurched over to the sensor station. The tech was on the floor still; Fr'h'tokh stepped over him and worked the controls.  
  
All the sensors were dead.  
  
  
---  
  
  
"Go!" Mara called, needlessly: the _Falcon_ was already dropping like a stone towards the hull of the cruiser. Han held the acceleration as long as he dare, then braked hard, wincing in expectation of a collision. The _Falcon_ stopped a few feet from the hull, and Han lowered her gently but quickly on repulsors. There was a clank as the two ships met momentarily. Chewie howled at him,  
  
"Okay, okay! I'm trying my best." he shouted through gritted teeth, edging the _Falcon_ a bit closer "Okay, lower the claw!" he called back through the cockpit door.   
  
There was a clank and a thud, and the Falcon lurched suddenly to a stop, held firmly in place on the cruisers hull. Han let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding and let go of the controls, allowing himself to relax a little.   
  
Chewie came in, woofling loudly. "Right." Han said, pushing up from the seat and flicking off all the systems: it wouldn't take the ssi-ruuk long to get the sensors back online. He shut down everything but the pre-flight sequences, the lights in the cockpit dulling. Han squeezed past Chewie and into the main hold. He broke open the weapons locker, snatching his blaster and holster from it, along with Leia's lightsaber. The small black translator that Admiral Ackbar had given him stared up at him; on impulse he stuffed it into a pocket and shut the locker. Chewie appeared with his bowcaster. Han grinned, moving towards the hatch "Ready?" he asked. Chewie howled affirmative and slapped the hatch control button.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Luke's mind spun, every muscle aching. He could feel Leia watching him with concern evident on her face. His fingers were numb and his eyes stung and his body longed to sleep.   
  
Suddenly a questioning presence reached out to him.   
  
Leia? No, it was Mara, her sense distracted. He didn't have the energy to return the contact. His mind drifted towards sleep...  
Suddenly his eyes snapped open as alarms started across the ship. He blinked them, trying to focus. Leia leaned forward in her chair as the ssi-ruuk, still working on the far console, jumped in surprise and dashed out the room.  
  
"Luke?" she called to him,  
  
"Not me." he answered, shaking his head faintly. Luke stretched out to the Force, free to use it now the entechment circuitry was off,   
and sensed a familiar presence.  
  
"Han?" Leia asked, her voice rising hopefully,  
  
"He's here." Luke nodded in agreement, feeling a flicker of hope himself.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Han hugged the walls, keeping close and hoping no stray ssi-ruuk would walk into them. Chewie came up behind him, bowcaster held ready, and Han could tell he was dying to use it. The sound of approaching feet drifted down the corridor towards them and Han motioned them backwards into the slight coverage of a small alcove, holding his breath.   
  
A group of smaller aliens rushed past, oblivious to the intruders hiding just a few meters away. When the group had past, Han waved them on, Chewie close on his heels. According to the schematics, they were enroute for the entechment bay, though it was above them, and they'd need to use one of the lifts. That would be the most dangerous time, Han knew, getting on and off the lift without being spotted-   
  
Chewie howled softly into his thoughts, Han turned and started to warn him about speaking, but the comments died when he saw   
  
Chewie pointing to the other side of the corridor and an open hatch. Checking the corridor, Han sprinted lightly over to the opening, hoping his luck would hold out long enough for him to inspect it.   
  
It did. No one approached as Han slunk into an alcove near the opening. He leaned around the edge and peered into the dark hatchway, knowing Chewie was standing guard. The hatch opened into a spiralling stairway that wound up to his left, and down to the right. A cool draft drifted through the narrow tunnel. It was dimly lit by fading glow-lamps. Further down, Han could see moving shadows against the walls, running rapidly up and down the tunnel. But none were close enough to give them any trouble.   
  
Han grinned, realising it was a walkway, and turned back to Chewie,  
  
"Lets take the stairs." He whispered, stepping closer to the hatch edge and poking his head through to look up.   
  
The level they wanted was another10 decks up, but it was better than taking the lift. Easing a hand to the other side of the hatch, then a leg, he clambered into the cramped area and moved to let Chewie through. There was a low growling from the hatch and Chewie's head appeared in the bright opening, grumbling profusely.   
  
Han stared at him sternly "Come on, furrball, this way's much safer." He said, but with no real annoyance in his voice, waving upwards with his blaster hand. Chewie moaned some more, pointing at the hole and indicating that he definitely didn't like the idea. Han spoke again, keeping his voice quite but letting an edge of annoyance creep in "Come on, we've been in worse." He said, and then grinned slyly "It could have been a garbage shoot." Chewie snorted disgustedly but began to clamber in, his massive bulk having problems with the small entry, Han held back a laugh.   
  
When the wookiee had finally bent his body through the opening they began to move, Han taking the lead up the spiral ramp and further into the dark.  
  
  
---   
  
  
Swh'hr'ring burst through the bridge doors. Not waiting to be greeted, he rushed down to the main area and up to Fr'h'tokh. Fr'h'tokh gave him a stern look, then turned back to the sensor station,   
  
"What's going on?" the younger ssi-ruuk demanded, puffing a little from his run up to the bridge.  
  
Fr'h'tokh moved out the way of a technician, who clambered underneath the console and began undoing the casing,  
  
"All the sensors went down when we hit the terminator." The Elder explained, moving to the back of the bridge away from the chaos that was the crew rushing to repair the sensors.  
  
"What?!" Swh'hr'ring asked incredulously. "How is that possible?"  
  
"We don't know yet," The Elder said, turning a beady gaze over the bridge "Maybe the humans-"  
  
"Sir!" a junior lieutenant interrupted, running up to them. He didn't wait to be told to continue "Sir, we've found the problem; the SARC is down."  
  
"The what?" Fr'h'tokh asked, not understanding.  
  
"The realignment system for the sensors." Swh'hr'ring said, moving past his commander to a nearby console and bringing up a display of the system. "It's one of the systems we got off the human spy, much better than our own."  
  
"Except this would never have happened had we stuck to our own technology." Fr'h'tokh growled, and the younger ssi-ruuk flinched: he had recommended using the superior human systems.  
  
"They must have recognised it as a weakness." He said.   
  
Fr'h'tokh nodded in agreement "Can it be fixed?" He asked   
  
"No, but I can bypass it and realign it manually." Swh'hr'ring said, already moving for a console.   
  
"It won't take long." he added after a look at the Elder's face,  
  
"Make it quick." Fr'h'tokh said, his voice tinged with anger.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Leia watched Luke trying -again- to find a weakness in the circuitry behind him, fingers running over the equipment and stretching out to the Force, trying to find anything they could use.   
  
Han was here. He was onboard and he was coming for them.   
  
She could feel his unmistakable presence just a few decks down. And when he got here they needed to get out as quick as possible.   
  
"It won't budge." Luke said, his voice disgusted, fingers yanking at the board and slipping free of the grip. Han was getting closer now.  
  
"Just hang on, he's nearly here." She said. Luke nodded and stopped trying to break the machinery, turning back to regard his sister with a warm smile.  
  
"What?" she asked, smiling despite herself. They would be free. Soon, very soon, they'd all be free again.   
  
She didn't want to think beyond that yet: to how to defeat the ssi-rruk. All that mattered was that Han would get them out of here and, finally, she would have her family back whole again. And free.   
  
"I was just wondering what weird diversion Han used to get them out of here." he said, raising his eyebrows.   
  
The alarms had stopped but there was a definite sense of panic onboard the ship.   
  
Leia chuckled "Trust Han to come up with something elaborate." she said.   
  
Luke laughed in agreement, that boyish smile spreading across his features.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Mara was facing it when the advance task force arrived. Several small assault vehicles and a large cruiser suddenly jumping into the fray, guns already firing. The cruiser came last, protected by the smaller attack boats skirting the hull. The fleet sprayed a fiery death onto any ssi-ruuk ships caught by surprise, but despite the sudden reprieve from battle, Mara had a bad feeling about this.   
She brought the _Jade's Fire_ about as one of the assault boats rocketed past turbolasers raking the surface of an attacking ssi-ruuk gunboat. Mara headed for the arriving fleet, opening a channel to both Han and Karrde's fleets.   
  
"This is the _Jade's Fire_." she said, "Watch out for those reinforcements. As yet, we don't know whose side they're on, so don't go getting complacent."  
  
"They look like they're on our side. They're certainly not on the ssi-ruuk side. Common enemies makes common allies, surely?" One of the few remaining Slastare pilots said  
  
"Don't count on it." She growled, changing channels to try and contact Borak. She had to work to get through, but her status as assault group commander' finally made it.   
  
"Commander." Borak's sarcastic voice cut across her comm. Mara grimaced. "Am I to assume by your title that General Solo is no more? I see no sign of his ship." There was almost a measure of delight in his voice as he said it, too.   
  
"Sorry to disappoint you, councillor." Mara said, making sure her own voice held plenty of smug pleasure "General Solo is very much alive. " -I hope-  
  
"Then where is his ship?" the councillor asked, suddenly suspicious, the contempt gone from his voice.  
  
"If you scan a way aft of the centre of that large cruiser I'm sure you'll find it." She said, rolling the ship over suddenly as one of the battle droids came in blazing. She waited for Borak to scan as told, firing at the pursuer. There was a sharp intake of breath and Mara knew they had spotted the _Falcon_ perched on the ships' hull.  
  
"They should _not_ have boarded." Borak growled.  
  
"They boarded to get your Chief of State back, I would hope that would be a course of action you would approve of." she replied, dispatching the droid buzzing her.   
  
"We were ordered not to board." Borak said  
  
"You were ordered, Borak. We came to help."  
  
"You may be a smuggler, Jade, but that does not place you beyond the law."   
  
Mara noted the distaste in his voice at the word 'smuggler'. Biting back a vicious comment, she said instead "And neither is your brother, I believe. " the remark must have stung, because the rail of insults that came across her speakers was very colourful.   
  
"And I thought bureaucrats were supposed work within polite society." she murmured.  
  
"This makes no difference." Borak said "We must take out that central cruiser if we're to have any chance here." Already Mara could see droves of a-wings and y-wings diving for the huge ship.  
  
"Borak, you can't do that. General Solo-"  
  
"_Councillor _Borak, to you Jade. And General Solo knew the risks, if her wants to die alongside his family, so be it." Borak snapped.  
  
"You can't attack that ship-"  
  
"Watch me."  
  
"- we won't allow it." Mara all but shouted over Borak.  
  
"Really." came the cool reply "You would attack a New Republic Defence Group? My, my, but you pirates really have lost any shred of decency you once possessed, haven't you?" Mara gritted her teeth.  
  
"Whereas you and your brother never possessed any." She spat.  
  
"Don't play word games with me, Jade, you won't win." There was a pompous confidence in his voice.  
  
"I don't intend to play any games here, Borak. This is war, and if you pick the wrong side, you'll have to pay."  
  
Borak Laughed "This childish banter is getting us nowhere," suddenly his tone was deadly serious "You fight this war your way, and we'll win it our way."  
  
"Admit it, Borak. This is just a vengeance mission. Pride and-" the click of the comm told her she'd pushed him too far. She sat in the relative silence of the cockpit and fumed.   
  
Of all the arrogant, stupid, self-centred-   
  
No, there was not time for this. Flicking the comm onto the secure line to Solo, she watched Borak's cruiser swing around for a direct pass over the huge ssi-ruuvi ship.  
  
"Mara?" Han's voice came across the comm.  
  
"Solo, our friend's just gate-crashed and you've got incoming."   
  
"Damnit," he swore, "Okay, see if you can keep buy us a few more minutes, we're nearly there."  
  
"Got it. Good luck" she replied, flicking off the comm and sending the _Jade's Fire_ back into the thick of it.

Chapter Five: End Game

Fr'h'tokh paced uneasily. How had they done it? Why? It didn't take down their defences, only blinded them momentarily. Why do it? The question ate at him as he waited impatiently for Swh'hr'ring to finish the repairs.  
  
"Got it," the younger alien declared, moving away from the board and hovering a hand over the controls. Ceremoniously, he put the sensors back on line. The grey screen flickered and blasted with static, before finally coalescing into a view of space, showing the ferocity of the battle being fought just beyond the hull.  
  
"Well done." the Elder congratulated his technician and moved forward. The sleek red ship that had fired on them earlier moved across the screen, blasting another droid to tiny pieces, flying without her wingman. Where was the larger freighter that had accompanied it-  
Suddenly, it hit him. The sensors were a diversion.  
  
Swh'hr'ring saw the stony expression spread across his Elder's face.  
  
"What is it?" he wondered out-loud.  
  
Suddenly, Fr'h'tokh was all action "Secure the bridge!" he called out to his crew. They stared back up at him in surprise. But only for a moment, the expression on his face motivating them to movement   
  
"Bring up the stun traps." He said, moving quickly to the back of the bridge.   
  
"What is it?" Swh'hr'ring asked again, rushing to keep up with the others sudden manic movements.   
  
The Elder turned and looked at him, saying slowly and quietly so no one else could hear  
  
"We have an intruder."~  
  
  
---  
  
  
Luke looked up suddenly, catching the sudden change in the alien's emotions, and the importance of the change blossomed in his mind; they knew.  
  
No, that wasn't right. He would have shook his head if the world was still spinning; not all of them knew, only the two in charge. Still, he knew it made little difference how many of them knew. The fact still remained: they knew. He knew it would only be a matter of time, so the bitter taste of defeat wasn't quite as soar as he might have expected. It was still there, however.  
  
"What?" Leia asked, her voice trembling slightly.  
  
"They know." Luke explained, tensing slightly as he felt, through the implant, the ship buckle up, defence's springing into place. The implant was irreversibly linked to the life-energies powering the ship and their sudden activity struck up a kin-ship in the implant. He knew he should be more careful of thinking of the thing as living, but to think of being a part of himself was too repulsive.  
  
Suddenly there was a loud thump from the blast doors, they both turned to stare at it.   
  
Leia's eyes lit up. "Han." she breathed, barely audible.   
  
The blast doors began their characterstic slow ascent. Luke stared at the door,  
  
"Han!" she called through it. Chewie came barrelling in first, bowcaster ready as always. He stopped suddenly, looking around, perplexed at the emptiness of the bay. Han followed soon after, nearly bowling the wookiee over in his haste.   
  
"Its okay, its clear." Luke said. Han started at the familiar voice, breaking him out of his momentary reverie at the laboratory. He turned in Luke's direction and Luke braced himself for Han's reaction. He wasn't disappointed; Han froze when he saw the bacta.  
  
"Luke?" He said, almost as if he wasn't certain he was right and could trust his own eyes. He started involuntarily towards the tank but changed direction when Leia called his name again, a grin beginning to spread across his face.  
  
"Leia." he said, enveloping her in a hug and holding onto her tightly like he was never willing to let go again. Chewie grumbled beside him.  
  
"Right." Han said, pulling away reluctantly. "We probably haven't got long." he started to pull at the restraints around Leia's hands.  
  
"You've got less than that," she said, "they know your here." Han looked up at her in surprise  
  
"Already?" she nodded.  
  
"Okay, hang on- damn it! What are these things made of!" he growled.   
  
"Han, the lightsaber." Leia said, looking pointedly at her saber hanging off his belt.  
  
"Right," he said, again, pulling it of his belt a little clumsily, and flicking the switch uncertainly. The bright blue blade sprang to life in his hands,   
  
"Mind your hands." He warned, slicing the blade across the metal. The restraints fell, split open, to the floor and Leia rubbed gratefully at her wrists.   
  
"Come on." She said, heaving her body out of the padded chair and moving for the tank. Han was right behind her; Chewie already studying the controls.  
  
"What the hell is this anyway?" he asked, surveying the complex machinery behind it with mixture between disgust and awe. He didn't get an answer from either of them, and when he saw the glance that passed between brother and sister, he decided not to ask again.   
  
  
  
---  
  
  
Fr'h'tokh's anger was intense but hidden behind a mask of confidence. On the outside, he worked with the sensor stations, trying to track down how they had got in. Whilst on the inside he fumed. Intruders! _Here_! It should never - _Never _- have been allowed and someone should pay- would pay.   
  
But not now. Now was not the time to get caught up in emotions; now was the time to track down these intruders who thought they could wander his ship in impotence, and to get rid of them.   
  
Logically, there was only one reason they were here, and, therefore, only one place they would be going.  
  
"Is the entechment bay sealed yet?" he asked Swh'hr'ring, who was working frantically beside him,   
  
"Not yet, sir. We need to send a command code, but the circuits still won't send." the technician said, not hiding his fear nearly as well as the elder managed.  
  
Fr'h'tokh considered for a moment- should they wait until the circuits were up again, or would that be too late? None of them wanted to die away from consecrated ground, but this went beyond such fears. Making a fast decision, he called to his chief of security.  
  
"I want a group of guards -not p'w'ecks- outside this door in one minute." he turned back to Swh'hr'ring, standing beside him.  
  
"We're going to go after them ourselves." he said, voice lowered. Swh'hr'ring almost physically paled at that, but his resolve stood, and he just nodded agreement.   
  
  
---  
  
  
Han hit the console in obvious frustration.  
  
"Damn it! How the hell do you shut this thing down?" he growled at the computer. Was he trying to stare it into submission? Chewie growled in agreement with Han's assessment of the truly alien nature of the equipment: they'd never seen anything like it before, and there was no way they were going to open it. Though the tank was obviously salvaged from a NR medical centre, that was where the connections with republic technology ended. Leia watched them anxiously.  
  
"Come on, they could be here any minute!" she said, anxiety breaking as she resisted the urge to shove him out the way and have a go herself. She had watched the aliens work the banks of controls, but of course they'd never had reason to open it up so she had no idea how to even start.  
  
"I know, I know." Han called from the far side of the room, having pealed back the side of one of the huge consoles and trying to get at the power source. When the elegant routes didn't work it was time to go back to basics.  
  
"We don't have time for this." She said again, fists curling into balls and fingernails digging welts into her palms. She looked over at her brother, whose eyes were closed, whether out of concentration or weariness she wasn't sure. As her gaze settled on him and a plethora of emotions spread in quick succession across her, his eyes snapped open as if stung.  
  
"Leia, you have to go." Luke insisted again, as he had for the past 5 minutes. He had a penchant for over-earnestness, but even his expression now surpassed even his usual intensity.  
  
"No." she said, sternly ignoring his pleading looks, "You think we came this far to give up now? We're not going without you."  
  
"Don't be stupid Leia. Just go." He insisted, sober regret creeping into his voice and mocking the boyish outline of his features.  
  
"We can't leave you." She whispered, a little too harshly. It wasn't the defeatist talk that bothered her, but rather the fact that she might be beginning to see the logic in it.  
  
"I'm not asking you to leave me. There is a way. You _know_ that. You-"  
  
"No." She cut him off, fear and assertiveness raising her voice, "Don't ask me to do that Luke." She said, quieter. In reply Luke looked down pointedly at the small read kill-switch.  
  
"Leia" he started.  
  
"No" she said, crossing her arms in front of her "We're not out of ideas yet." Which was, of course, not true.  
  
The sound of another descriptive Corellian curse came from across the room, and Leia turned to ask Han how much longer. She swivelled back when she caught the sudden shift in Luke's emotions, feeling like an icy dagger edging slowly into her heart. Despair was something none of them could afford to allow purchase in their minds.  
  
"What is it?" she asked, seeing him staring of blankly into space, his eyes totally lacking in emotion.   
  
She didn't need an answer as her own danger-sense flared up.  
  
"Han!" she called, running for the far side of the room swiftly but also with a measure of concern for stealth.   
  
"Leia, you have to leave. _Now_." Luke called after her.   
  
"Han, they're coming." She said, when she reached him. From inside the gutted panel, Han's head reappeared, looking desperately around for a way out. With a snap decision, he grabbed her hand   
  
"In here." he said calling Chewie over too. Chewie reached them and Han shoved him into the open computer panel, ignoring the wookiee's protests at the cramped space. Leia pushed Han in too, and then climbed in herself, reaching for the panel and bending it back to bear at least some resemblance to an intact console. As she did so she caught the concerned look on Luke's face, and understood it well. For she, too, knew what would happen if they were caught, but she wasn't about to abandon him. A thin sliver of light reached the inside of their console, which, fortunately, reached back much further than she would have guessed for its size, and she could just about see out and into the bay.   
  
  
---  
  
  
Luke tensed in anticipation of the approaching aliens. They were angry, very angry, and they would be a whole lot angrier when they got here and discovered Leia gone. Through his slightly distorted view of the world, Luke glanced at the console that just hid them. He feel his sister practically broadcasting her fear.   
  
They should have left! They could have been long gone by now.   
  
The blast doors on the far side began their sluggish rise, and Luke pushed down the urge to hold her breath as a guard of ssi-ruuk came springing through the entrance. They did an adequate job of covering the two ssi-ruuk as they entered more cautiously. These two were definitely the two Luke was used to seeing. He fought down his own fears, more inspired by Leia's feelings than any concern for his own safety, and remained calm as they stalked towards them. One of them -the smaller one- whistled in surprise as Leia's vacant chair came into view. He braced himself as the larger one swivelled back towards him, fire behind its eyes.   
  
In a sharper voice than normal, it called out a snapped command and the golden protocol droid hustled into the room from behind the ssi-ruuvi guard. Luke still could push down the retching feeling he got every time he saw this particular droid. The large blue alien, its ire obvious, snapped something to the other one, which moved hesitantly towards the console, hand resting shakily over the small red button. Well, it looked like they were going to do Leia's job for him. The golden droid approached, and translated as the blue ssi-ruuk drew itself up to an imposing height.  
  
"Where are they?"   
  
Somehow, though, it lacked the menace that was intended in the question. Luke considered for a moment telling them they had left a long time ago, but doubted it would be good enough to satisfy the hunger for blood in the aliens obsidian eyes. The alien, either not adept at reading human emotions or too far into the throws of anger to care, took his pause to be insolence. Baring predator's teeth, it scowled and looked pointedly at his technician.  
  
"Not here." Luke said, for lack of anything better.   
  
"Jedi Skywalker, I do not offer threat mildly." The other warned. Its voice husky, though the droid gain failed to convey the menace.  
  
"I don't know". Luke answered again, trying not to look at the smaller ssi-ruuk nervously holding its hand ready for the given order.   
He could feel Leia's anxiety like a tightly coiled spring, ready to rush forwards; only Han's strong grip holding her back.  
  
"I should kill you." The alien grinned slyly as if in it's mind it already tasted his blood, "But I don't believe they've left the ship yet." he turned to the technician and, making sure the droid translated said, "Technician Swh'hr'ring, restart the entechment circuitry." It said each word deliberately slow and meaningful; though there would have been no mistaking it's intent.   
  
Luke's stomach roiled "No." he whispered, unable to keep the sentiment quite.   
  
The ssi-ruuk heard him, "Yes, I hope you can save us a lot of trouble tracking them down." the entechment circuitry sprang to life   
around him, the whine increasing audibly around the room in a drone that was sickeningly familiar now.  
  
"No." Luke said again louder this time and with as much conviction as he could muster.  
  
"It's too late. You could have told us where they were, but chose not to." The ssi-ruuk said, and then grinned slyly again, "Ah, but at least you have the satisfaction of being able to say a final good bye as you kill them."   
  
Luke choked off a retort and sank deeper into the tank, knowing what was coming as the blue energy sprang across the circuits in a web of deadly energy. In his mind he saw Han hold back the squirming Leia, either not knowing what was about to happen, or knowing running out of hiding now would only get them killed all the sooner   
  
Falling back on old, inadequate tactics, Luke blocked any of his own use of the Force, fighting for control. He was too weak from continual enteching throughout the battle and he knew even if he wasn't, with Han and Leia so closer there could be no stopping it. His eyes closed in concentration; he told himself it was for concentration anyway, though it may have had more to do with his unwillingness to meet Leia's startled gaze through the crack in the console. He waited for the tug to come.   
  
  
---  
  
  
Leia was frantic, knowing what was about to happen, seeing her own fear mirrored on Luke's face. Han held her back from moving forwards though, his strong grip firm around her shoulders. She turned round to face him,  
  
"Han, if we don't go now then-"  
  
"We wouldn't get a foot before being cut down." He whispered harshly into her ear, silently reminding her of the need to keep quite, the noise of the machinery barely masking their voices.  
  
"Better that than..." she trailed of feeling sickness well up with her own terror. Suddenly, blue light sprang across the boards behind Luke and the circuitry was ready.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Luke braced his hands against the side of the tank, mentally and physically steeling himself. He didn't know why but the feeling of physical control of his environment somehow felt like it help in his mental security.   
  
Time stretched into a blurred mess of images from his own and Leia's mind, and the wait seemed to last forever. But, inevitably, it   
happened.   
  
With uncontrollable force born of his won mind, Luke's sense was flooded in a cacophony of images presented to him by the Force, his mind reaching out along the many routes it presented to him, seeking one in particular. He pulled back, but it was all so much futile gesture, and he knew it even before he started to do. The analogy that sprang to mind was of trying to slow and x-wing with his teeth, and it didn't take his mind long to overcome him. Luke found himself yet again in the position of spectator.   
  
Except, this time Luke was so close to the targets....  
  
Tired but determined, Luke channelled all the energy he had left into one final gamble, feeling it drain out of his muscles, out of every cell, until he took himself to the point of unconsciousness Dazed and with spots appearing before his eyes, though never allowed close enough to the brink f unconsciousness that he could sink happily into its cool depths, he forced his mind to focus, only the discipline from years of Jedi training allowing it. With one, decisive blow he forced the contact away from his family.   
It wasn't much, a bit like trying to kick a Rancor, but it was enough. His mind flailed as the machine retook control and caught onto a presence. The wrong presence.  
  
One of the ssi-ruuk guards whistled suddenly in surprise, its shrieks grating the air. Luke couldn't have broken the contact even if he'd wanted to as the Force suffocated the terrified alien mind, quenching any resistance with ease, choking the alien's cries as the presence ripped from the body.   
  
Peripherally, Luke saw Swh'hr'ring dive for the boards as the ssi-rruk realised what was happening, but Luke didn't have time to think about that as the aliens mind surged towards him. Not for the first time he felt like he was stood at the bottom of a long tunnel, watching the screeching terror-filled presence descend towards him. And then their two minds collided, overwhelming his senses.   
  
Luke, already drained, never had a hope in resisting as the aliens body slumped to the floor, devoid of the very thing that made it alive. He was ready for the tearing of the circuitry when, suddenly, around him, the energy disappeared.   
  
He felt the crush of the alien's mind, still working against him and writhing, screaming at him. Nothing happened; no pull, no blue tendrils, nothing. Then he understood as his eyes flew open in reflex and saw Swh'hr'ring standing by the console, the lights off. They had shut it off, trapping the presence in his body.  
  
"Return him." a voice boomed in his ears. Luke fought to keep his mind as it began to crumble under the pressures, his arms and legs flailing against the sides of the tank trying to get any hand on reality. He could hear his voice screaming but was barely aware that it was his own, and wasn't entirely sure the downed ssi-ruuk didn't add it's own voice to his scream. Desperately he pushed the other presence away from him, weakened mind still trying to gain a grip. Without the pull of the implant, the two minds separated, pushing the alien sense away.   
  
Luke didn't have the strength to even begin to get the presence back to the body; his mind was shutting down, darkness falling. He gasped for breath and felt Leia's presence well up to help him stay conscious as the alien presence dissipated into the Force.   
  
Luke seemed to hang like that for a long time before the alien spoke again,   
  
"Return it!" he shouted this time. But it was far, far to late for the alien, already long dead.  
  
"He's dead." Luke managed with a scratched voice, his nerves screaming at even that use of his muscles.   
  
A deadly quite descended on the room, and Luke sank back against the tank, mind reeling.   
  
  
---  
  
  
Han stared out into the room in shock at what he had just witnessed, no words possible.   
  
Leia's eyes were closed as a croaky Luke spoke at last.  
  
"He's dead." was the faint reply. The alien's froze as Luke sank back against the tank side. Suddenly, they moved to a corner, talking quietly. Leia's eyes opened again and she took a deep, shivering breath before looking up at Han.  
  
"What happened?" Han managed, but she didn't reply, still trying to get her own breath back. Han dug into his pocket and found the small black translator Ackbar had given them and in the darkness managed to flick the display on. Leia turned to him at last, not recognising the object in the dark.  
  
"What is it?" she asked, her voice sounding no better than Luke's had.  
  
"Shush." he whispered and waited for the display to coalesce into something readable. It gave of a faint green glow that lit their faces in a ghastly green colour. At last, it got into gear and words started to scroll across the screen, though there was an obvious time-delay.  
_  
'They couldn't have gotten of the ship yet, we'd have known, they must still be onboard somewhere....'_

"The translator." Leia guessed, and got a positive nod from Han. "What are they going to do now? They might leave a guard here and-" she cut of, suddenly reading the words scrolling across the screen with more concentration.  
_  
'can't risk it happening again. If he can control it, he must be killed.'   
Elder, I don't want-'   
'It has to be done, Swh'hr'ring, now, please.'_

Leia looked up suddenly as one of the aliens began to move away from the group.  
  
"No." she breathed, trembling.   
  
Suddenly, she knew she was out of time.  
  
Reaching down, she yanked the lightsaber from her belt and dived for the entrance as Luke's eyes snapped open at her sudden movement. The console side yielded under her decisive thrust sat it and she sprawled through the opening on onto the sterilised floor.  
  
"No!" she cried, adrenaline working her past any fear she might have had left and propelling her forwards. Han shouted after her, grabbing at her, but missing as Leia flew from their hiding place, brown hair flying out behind her in a wave of fury.   
  
Leia bolted through the opening and into the open bay, clambering to her feet and pushing up off the floor in one smooth movement. The aliens, too slow to shoot her down and probably chilled by her cry, didn't manage to keep up with her: the surprise attack stunning them.   
  
Awareness flooded into her like sunshine after a storm, and suddenly it was like she was moving with two perceptions, freed from the restriction hers own body placed on her.   
  
And Luke was there, helping her, rushing her forwards with all the strength he had left. Helping her, guiding her as she dodged the aliens and sprinted for the alien moving for the kill-switch. The contact was sudden and startling strong, Luke's sense bolstering her own with a clarity should could never have imagined.   
  
She reached the console in a hurry, lightsaber flashing angrily, she cut of the fore-claw off the small brown alien. It screamed in startled pain, not really comprehending what was happening to it as she altered grip on the saber. She ignored it's terror-filled cries. As Luke's awareness joined hers fully she suddenly she was moving with finesse and power she could only dream of; with the power of a Jedi Master.   
  
An alien came in behind her. Leia hadn't even sensed it, but her body nimbly rotated and ducked at the same time, coming up behind its beam and sweeping off the claw that held it, before neatly changing direction and slicing the guard in half. She jumped suddenly, leaping high above the beam of a paddle beamer and twisting to come right in front of the would-be assailant and killing it with a quick thrust through the chest, her hands moving with practised ease as the lightsaber buzzed angrily.   
  
Her fighting was fluid, moving from enemy to enemy as Luke guided her.   
  
_Behind you_ came the call and she swung hard round and up, cracking open the helm of another ssi-ruuk.   
  
Now Han was moving too- had she been fighting for such a short time?- bursting from concealment to blast one of the aliens into the far wall with a thud that continued to resound through her consciousness.   
  
Giving up on their beamers, the ssi-ruuk produced blasters and a missed hit showing her they were set on the highest setting. Luke's   
contact started to flicker: he was weaker than she realised and couldn't keep it up much longer. No time to think: another alien moved in from the right, blaster firing. She blocked it easily and moved closer to it, ready to kill.   
  
Luke's mind was slipping fast; she fumbled to cut of its arm as it dived down on top of her. She rolled to the side, the impact knocking the wind out of her and her arms trembled with fatigue, her muscles not used to this. Intent on killing the alien that had knocked her down, she barely heard Luke's warning call.  
  
_Leia!_ He shouted, but she kept on at this one, as it dodged her saber and came at her, anger flaring in its eyes.  
  
_The first one._  
  
What?   
  
The alien kept coming. She lunged for it but missed.   
  
_Leia!_  
  
Finally, she struck the big blue alien and it collapsed, falling across her knees.  
_Leia!_ She twisted, trying to find the danger, and, to her horror, saw the alien that had gone for the switch crawling for the button. She struggled with the alien body laying across her, realising her intent on killing it had cost her her concentration on the whole fight.   
  
The alien clawed for the board.   
  
Desperately, she cocked the saber over her shoulder and flung it at the alien, twirling blade travelling with deadly precision as Luke tried to help her again.   
  
It struck the alien across the head. But too late. The alien's last act was to slam its hand down hard on the small, inconspicuous red button.   
  
Leia's mind froze, her breath went out of her, and suddenly, Luke's presence was blasted out of her mind.   
  
"No!!!" she screamed, frozen in place under the bleeding body of the alien.   
  
_Too late too late too late._   
  
Her mind screamed even as the sudden pain of the contact tore at her, the violence with which Luke's presence was ripped free shocking all her muscles and she sagged to the floor, unable to move.   
  
  
---  
  
  
Luke flailed in the tank, his hands flying up to the mask as the last dregs of consciousness were torn from him. His fingers dug around the breathing mask pulling hard at its edges in a desperation that belied the trembling in his muscles, but nothing happened. He dug in deeper, ripping at it, as the dioxins flooded through and into his body. His muscles tired of the fight, his body stopped its thrashing, and black spots appeared in front of his eyes. Feeling a strange falling sensation, Luke's vision passed away with that last look of Leia staring up at him, horrified at her own failure, he knew. His last sensation was her voice screaming at him before his mind tumbled backwards and gave way to the cool, deep black.   
  
  
---  
  
  
Han was already moving, seeing Leia's error. The lightsaber cut towards the alien but it was going to be to late. The alien hit the button and Leia screamed as Luke flailed in the tank, hands trying to rip the mask free. The urgency of the situation wasn't lost on Han: he dodged the blaster of one of the big aliens, knowing he had to move quick even as Luke sagged in the tank, not moving.   
  
He dived for the fallen lightsaber, turned it into a tuck roll and, snatching it up off the floor in a smooth movement, continued rolling to his feet, never slowing. With a flick of his finger, the blue blade appeared, buzzing as he ran for the tank. Stopping just momentarily to get a firm grip on the saber with both hands, he held the blade low and brought it back over his shoulder before it swept across the front of the tank, the blade tugging against the thick transparisteel walls.   
  
There was tremendous crack, but it didn't break. Painfully aware Luke was not moving and hung as if in death, Han reversed his momentum and sent the blade across in the opposite direction, sweeping downwards. Fine lines raced away from the cuts, spreading fast away from where he struck, and, suddenly, the tank burst.   
  
Shards of transparisteel bit at him but he kept on cutting the tank, trying to fight his way through as the bacta poured forth over him, sticky and cloyey as it surged out of the tank. The bacta spread across the floor; the tank emptied up to the jagged edge the splintering of the tank had left. Bacta dripped slowly from the machinery and Luke's still body.   
  
Han stepped nearer and, in one smooth motion, cut the lines leading from the tank's breathing apparatus and entechment circuitry to Luke. Arms trembling from sudden fatigue and dread, he let the saber fall to the ground and moved for Luke, realising he would fall onto the sharp edges. Leia got there first, diving under his arms and falling onto her knees, holding the limp body of Luke above the shattered edges of the glass. She was plastered in the sticky liquid and her arms shook as she held the body of her brother above the sharp edges.   
  
Han stepped in, taking the weight off her and cradling the Jedi as he lifted him from the tank and away from the bacta.   
  
Luke's face was a ghastly pale and his lips were blue. A lump in his throat, Han set him down gently onto the bacta-covered floor in front of the tank. Leia was there with him as Han moved to check for a pulse, and didn't get one. She rocked back on her heal, eyes closed. Alarms were ringing across the ship, Han looked up anxiously, saw Chewie moving towards them, having finished off the remaining ssi-ruuk. He held a hand over Luke's mouth: he wasn't breathing. Not waiting any longer, he placed both hands across Luke's chest-  
  
Leia's arm snaked out and grabbed his arm.  
  
"Wait." she said, eyes open again "He's still alive, he's in a very deep healing trance."  
  
Relief flooded into Han's emotions as he realised what she was saying.   
  
"I'm going to try and reach him." he voice became distant, eyes close again as she cradled Luke's hand in her own.  
  
"Leia wait-" but she was already gone.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Leia took Luke's hand gently into her own, shutting out Han's concern as she searched for him, knowing inside that he wasn't dead, couldn't be dead. She held onto him as she sank towards the Force, reaching out to the cool of her brother's mind, hoping to feel even a slight echo in the darkness.   
  
She sighed, feeling desperate, groping in the dark and not being able to find him. She opened her eyes again, her hand still holding onto Luke's own, now chill and lifeless.   
  
"Leia." Han's words broke through to her and she lifted her head up, feeling ancient.   
  
"I can't find him." She admitted. Chewie woofled softly: a warning they shouldn't be staying around here. Leia shifted on the sticky bacta-covered floor, shards of plastisteel cutting into her knees.   
  
She stared down into Luke's face, deathly pallor covering his features. Han reached over to her and wrapped his arms around her, ignoring Chewie's warning. He put his head next to her and whispered softly.   
  
"Leia, you can." His words were firm, leaving no room for argument, and Leia was shocked by the resolution in them.  
  
"Help me." she said softly, drifting back again and feeling Han holding her up, helping her the only way he knew how, his determination infectious.   
  
Again, she felt the cold of Luke's mind, but she didn't stop looking. He had to be here somewhere, she knew it.   
This time, images coalesced in front of her, random pictures moving too fast for her to see, she held on firmly through the ride, her mind recoiling from the barrage of information. She shook, but Han held her firm. Suddenly, the images disappeared and Leia squinted in bright, sudden sunlight. Instinctively she threw her hand up, and realised at that moment that she was here, that this was where she would find him.  
  
The dream like world shivered as she looked around, stunned by the intricate detail. Flat sand stretched for miles, broken only by the edge of enormous dunes in the distance. The ground was sandy but littered but bleached rocks in places and a heat-haze rose from the roasting ground. She turned away from the spectacular scenery before her that stretched for miles all around, and saw a small, bleached dwelling rising up from the ground as if sprouted from it, walls weathered and beaten by decades of sun and sand working together to bring down the small residence.   
  
She approached slowly, twin suns glaring in her eyes. Her virtual footsteps were as shaky as her mind felt in his foreign environment. Foreign, but somehow familiar.   
  
Reaching a sudden dip in the ground, she stared over the edge. The dwelling went further down here, a courtyard arrangement that sprawled in a rough circle with plants and stairways leading back out again. Realising suddenly where they were, Leia just stared at the homestead. A noise to her left turned her attention from the Lar's home, and she looked over, seeing the silhouette of a small boy sat on the edge of the ridge, back to the sun, kicking at the fine sand and watching it curl slowly to the courtyard below.   
Leia stared at the small figure, who sat staring resolutely downwards, and approached him slowly. She walked towards him, heart skipping as he looked up, achingly blonde hair flying into disarray as he jumped in sudden alarm at her appearance, white clothes stained by the sand. He backed away from her, obviously scared by her sudden appearence.   
  
"Go away. You can't be here." he said, voice trembling.   
  
"Luke, wait." she said uncertainly, the husky, honey tones of her voice in sharp contrast to the child's high timbre.   
  
His eyes widened when she said his name, and he backed away hurriedly, throwing up sand into the air as he skidded backwards. She stepped towards him and he backed further. She stopped and held out her hand to the child-Luke.   
"You have to leave." His stare was intense and filled with child courage. Leia smiled, recognising the features of the man she knew on the boy's face.  
  
"Please." she said, holding out her hand again. "I just want to talk."  
  
Luke looked around uncertainly, clear blues eyes still frightened but curious too. She took a step closer and he held his ground staring up at her. Gingerly she took his hand in her own. Again, the world trembled, she looked around but the boy ignored it, gripping on tightly to her and whispering, "You shouldn't be here."   
  
She sat down on the ground and looked over the courtyard. Hesitantly, Luke sat down next to her and stared forward, brow crumpled as he thought hard. Leia recognised it as one of Anakin's expressions and she smiled.  
  
"Come back with me." she said, kicking now at the sand.  
  
"Can't." he said bluntly.  
  
"Why not?" she asked. She expected an answer about having to stay home. A child's answer. Instead Luke faltered and his hands   
curled into fists.  
  
"They're still there." he said, voice trembling with emotion. She looked down at the small figure beside her.   
  
"No, they're not." she said. The boy looked up, crystal blue eyes focusing on her.  
  
"Really?" he asked, pleading.  
  
"Really." She said. He looked away again.  
  
"Can't," He repeated.  
  
"Trust me." She said. The world blurred around her, shivering. She grabbed for the ground, shocked at the sudden change.   
Luke shot up from his place and ran from her. Leia tried to gain her feet whilst shouting for him to stop. The tremors stopped and she leapt upwards, chasing and catching him easily. He wouldn't look at her, tears streaming down his cheeks, shaking slightly and holding back the sobs. She gripped him by both shoulders and turned him to face her, dropping to one knee and staring up at him. Eyes rimmed with tears, he wiped them on the sleeve of his jacket.  
  
"Luke, what is it?" she asked "Why cant you trust me?" her own voice breaking slightly. He tried to turn from her but she held him firm.  
  
"Not just you." he said, staring up at the sky and sighing slightly. "I cant-" he broke off.  
  
Leia understood then and she drew him to her, enveloping him in a hug. Hesitant at first, but then certain he wrapped his arms around her and cried.   
  
Leia's heart ached for him, understanding at last what he was so afraid of, what only the child in him would acknowledge.   
  
Throughout his life, Luke had laid his trust in people, had devoted himself to them, and they had let him down. She felt Luke draw back from her as images sprang through her mind. Ben Kenobi, his mentor, had lied and used him. His foster parents had kept his father a secret from him, and if they'd had their way, he would never have known, always living in quite animosity on this scorched planet. Even more recently Akanah had given him the false hope of their mother, and then snatched it back. And now, Leia realised, her too. He had trusted her on Cassrine, and she hadn't come. The boy pulled back from her.   
  
"No." He said "Not you." She wiped tears from her own eyes and nodded. Standing back up she held out her hand again "Come with me." she said, again.   
  
Cautiously, the small boy reached for her hand. She grasped it and the world collapsed around them.   
  
  
---  
  
  
Leia blinked, the sudden loss of light blinding, she rubbed at her eyes, trying to focus them. Soft twilight shades wrapped the landscape in cool blue shadows.   
  
The air was chill; the twin suns already set beyond the distant horizon. The landscape was strikingly similar: long flat plains surrounded by deep dunes. A few meters away from her, though, a small tower-like structure rose up from the sky. Crudely designed and tapering to upwards, Leia recognised the basic design, realising it was a moisture evaporator. Beside it, a lone figure stood, staring up into the sky with a pair of macro-binoculars. An old droid worked alongside, its lights illuminating the area as it whirred to itself.   
  
Leia approached the figure and stood beside him, staring upwards.   
  
"What is it?" she asked, seeing lights flash across the deep indigo sky. Luke turned away from the binoculars and looked at her.   
  
"The beginning," he said, "or maybe the end."   
  
He leaned back against the vaporator and handed her the binoculars. She took them from him and he watched as she stared through them to the battle raging above them.  
  
"The Tantive IV." she said slowly, lowering the binoculars. "Why here, Luke?" she asked. He shrugged, staring back up into the sky.   
This was the breach between his life and his destiny, she knew. Maybe this was where he was most comfortable, most safe. Before the galaxy moved in and forced him to fight.   
  
She knew how that felt, but she didn't regret what had happened. She didn't think Luke did either. Maybe this was a just a poignant reminder of how things should have been. She sat down beside the vaporator, the sand already cold. Luke sat down beside her.  
  
"I should have stayed here." He said.  
  
"On Tatooine?" she looked at him curiously.  
  
"No. Here, at home. Then none of this would have happened." A flash of light shot out from the two ships high above the planet; the escape pod leaving the crippled rebel cruiser. Leia was silent for a moment, watching it streak away.  
  
"You don't mean it." She said at last. He put a hand through his hair, blonde even in this light. Another reminder of how much things had changed.  
  
"You can't mean it."  
  
"Really?" he asked, his tone taking on the seriousness she was used to from the man she knew rather than the boy she'd known.   
  
"All of that," she lifted a hand towards the two ships "All of that would have been in vain. Threepio and Artoo would be dismantled. Han would still be running from Jabba, or worse. The Empire would still be around, Vader and the Emperor still in charge. The rebellion would be dead, I would be dead. Mara would still be-"  
  
"I know." Luke interrupted her "But how many would be alive?"  
  
He was silent then, the sincere expression somehow not fitting on his young face.   
  
"How many died on that first Death Star? How many innocents just doing their job?" His voice became more animated, "How many hotshot pilots from backwater worlds like this who just wanted a little adventure?" he said scornfully.   
  
"I don't know." Leia answered honestly.  
  
"Or how many died when the Empire collapsed? How many under the Emperor depended on the Empire for work? And Black Sun? How many died when we blew up their headquarters on Coruscant?"  
  
"I don't know, but it was war. People die. Good people, people who had no part in the fighting, honest people trying to just get along." She replied, shifting to stare sternly into her brother's eyes, "But millions more would be dying right now," She stabbed her fingers to the cool sand "if you had just 'stayed home'. "  
  
"And the ssi-ruuk-"  
  
Leia cut him off "Same thing." she said "If you're going to go blaming yourself, you might as well just curl up now and crawl into a hole, but you know something?" she asked, her voice as stern as her expression "We both know you would never do that and would never forgive yourself if you did." She continued to stare at him before standing up again and offering her hand. He looked at it, his brow furrowing in concentration. In the sky, the blazing meteor grew.   
  
"Come on, Luke. Let me help you." she said softly.  
  
"It hurts." he said roughly, not looking at her.  
  
"Let me help you. We can do this." She said, emphasising every word.   
  
He looked up into her eyes, pleading for her to mean it. At last he reached out and took her hand in his own. As his fingers clasped around her hand, he rose from the ground to stand next to her, features shifting slightly to the man she knew. He nodded "Thank you." he said.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Leia rocked back against him. Han still held onto her, her looked nervously at Chewie. The wookie just glanced back towards the door. Leia's eyes flickered slightly and with a shivered breath, she was back. Han released his grip on her and she pushed away from him to lean over Luke. She griped Luke's hand, her knuckles white with the pressure. Gently, she let her grip on Luke's hand fall. Han moved next to her as she stared at Luke, eyes distant.   
  
"Come on." She whispered, looking back at Han. He looked down at her questionably, but didn't say anything.  
Luke shivered, eyes flickering open for a moment. He breathed a first, shaky breath and colour flooded back to has cheeks. She took his hand again, and he squeezed tightly, breathing shallow and rasping. She reached out and gently brushed the back of her hand against his cheek. His eyes flew open at the touch and he started to move away from her. She held on to him, pulling him back as easily as if he were a child.  
  
"Welcome back." she smiled. She saw the realisation on his face and he relaxed,   
  
Han stepped in, eyebrows raised, his deep voice breaking the tension   
  
"Jedi." he said, mock-amazed. He grinned and then his voice took on a more serious tone "You okay?" he asked, reached deep into his pocket and fishing out an exotic array of medical equipment.  
  
Luke nodded but didn't answer. Han frowned at him.  
  
"Here," he said, reaching over and placing one of the patches onto Luke's neck. Luke relaxed visibly, the pain suppressor working immediately. "Come on, we have to get out of here." Han said as he bent down and gently lifted Luke into his arms.  
  
"It's okay, I can walk." Luke managed, his voice still weak. Leia stood up beside him, retrieving her lightsaber from the floor.  
Han stared down at him, incredulous "Careful, you just came back from the dead, don't push it too far." he only half joked, Luke looked like he was about to object "Seriously, if we run into any ssi-ruuk, they'll probably be gunning for you, not us." He turned back to Leia   
  
"Ready?" he asked.   
  
"Ready" she said. Han strode towards the door, Leia close on his heels.  
  
"All clear?" he asked Chewie. The wookiee woofled softly.  
  
"Good, lets get going."  
  
  
---  
  
  
Borak was making some good hits, but the big cruiser wasn't going down without a fight. Small black fighters swarmed around them, most of the republic's fighters were gone, their shields no match for the battle droids. And Borak's cruiser was having its own problems; the shield were down to less than 30% and from all sides plumes of fire could be seen. Even if the ship did survive this fight, it was doubtful it we ever manage to limp back to Coruscant. Mara bit her lip as another x-wing exploded in front of her, colliding with one of the fighters and spraying flak across her screen.  
  
"Borak, this is madness," she called into the comm. There was no reply, just like there'd been no reply for the last twenty minutes. He was determined to get revenge any way he could. From the side of the ship, a huge explosion burst out into space. But the ship was so big it made little difference.  
  
"Borak!" she called, frustrated with the ex-imperial' s attitude. "Call them off." another assault boat went up in flames, the cries of its pilots shutting off suddenly as it was engulfed in flame.  
  
"Jade, we have been through this." The slightly flustered voice of the commander came through, surprising her.  
  
"Borak, you're killing them." Mara said.  
  
"There is no other way." He said, voice tight.  
  
"No- no other way to get your revenge, but there are better ways of fighting this-" she cut off suddenly, her danger sense flaring. She looked around her, hands tensing on the controls.  
  
"Jade?" Borak called over the comm. She glanced at her sensors but they didn't tell her anything.  
  
"Borak-" she began again, but stopped suddenly, her eye caught by a limping ssi-ruuk gunboat far to her aft. Fire bled from its engines, leaving a trail of streamers as it hobbled slowly forwards. Mara stared at it, quiet fears growing. Suddenly, the ship lurched foward, sprinting, its course taking it on a straight, unwavering path to the Republic cruiser.  
  
"Borak! You've got a gunboat-" she started to call.  
  
"We see it." he called back. Turbolaser fire sprang from the cruiser, fire splashing harmlessly of suddenly reinforced shields. The small ship didn't even flinch, storming on determidly for the cruiser's bridge.  
  
Mara's comm erupted into chaos, the cries of desperate orders drowned out by the gravel-tones of Borak, ordering them to fire the thrusters. The ship began a lumbering turn, trying to escape. The small gunboat shifted course to follow it. The last barrage of fire erupted form the turbolasers. Across her comm the noise increased before the small ship ploughed into the bridge.   
Mara closed her eyes as the fire light up the sky, the cries of the bridge crew calling across the comm as the oxygen ignited a massive fireball rushed through. She reached over and flicked of the comm, but already the screams had turned to the ominous buzz of static. When she opened her eyes again the ship was burning, a huge chunk of the front charred and open to space, sparking. The ship was still turning from the crew's last manoeuvre. Mara stared at it, the breath going out of her as she hurriedly reached for the sensors, hoping she was seeing things. She wasn't.  
  
In horror, she watched the cruiser, out of control and without a bridge crew, lurch slowly onto its side and start an unstoppable plummet towards the ssi-ruuvi ship.

  
Onwards to Episode 7

Teaser Excerpt

Mara started at a sound behind her, instinctively reaching for her sleeve blaster as she turned to face the noise.  
  
She scowled. "You shouldn't be up." she said, replacing the blaster back into its holster..  
  
Her scowl faded as Luke grinned. "I wouldn't be, if I'd have known you were going to shoot me." He said stepping into the light where the coloured lights threw a dazzling halo over his head. She smiled as her stepped forward,  
  
"Teach you to go sneaking around other peoples ships, " she said, but there was only humour in her voice. "Seriously, though, you shouldn't be up." she gestured to the seat beside as she said it, though. "Your sister would kill me." Luke's grin widened.  
  
"I'm fine..." He said sitting down- a little too heavily- and suddenly trailing off. Mara looked at him curiously.  
  
"Sure." she said. He sighed and stared out beyond the cockpit screen, is face set in stone.  
  
"It's gone you know," she offered, recognising that he was fine physically, though not mentally.   
  
"Oh" he said. Tone neutral, turning back to stare forwards and leaning back into the pilots seat.  
  
She sighed, realising she wasn't going to do any good trying to reassure him.   
  
"How far out are we?" he said at last.  
  
She glanced down at the chrono and was mildly surprised to see they were over 11 hours out from Slastare. "Only a few minutes left." she said, trying not to look flustered.  
  
Luke nodded, not noticing. He leant back again quietly. Strangely, the silence didn't seem to hang between them, instead they both sat in quiet thought.   
  
"Does it hurt??" she asked at length.  
  
"What?" this time he did turn to look at her.   
  
"The..." she couldn't bring herself to say the word 'implant'. His face creased when he realised what she was asking.  
  
"Oh." He said "No. Not really. There are some pain suppression tricks I know."  
  
"Useful." She said "You'll have to teach me them someday." She turned fiery green eyes on him "How about mentally?"  
  
She braced herself for him to close off to her, to run back inside himself. Instead he stared at her, eyes going distant. He swallowed hard before answering.   
  
"Probably not as much as it should." he said, straining to keep his voice.  
  
"Look, Luke-" she started  
  
"Don't Mara, " he interrupted her "Just.... just don't"  
  
She bit back a comment about refusing help, knowing she would just be the same in his position. He folded his arms across his stomach, not so much a defensive gesture as a lonely one.   
  
"I won't," she promised. "But just remember where I am"   
  
He paused "I will." 

Okay, so its not as action packed as the actual episode, but I'm preparing you for more Mara.

   [1]: mailto:vikki18@totalise.co.uk



	7. Episode Seven

Disclaimer -I've run out of things to say....umm...I don't own these characters though if Mr Lucas would like to sign them over to me then feel free...

Your reviews are always appreciated, so please keep them coming :)

Thanks go to all the people I've met and who have inspired me on the internet. There are far too many of you to thank personally, soI'll have to thank you collectively...thanks! 

Mina - vikki18@totalise.co.uk

**Abhoration and the Alternative**

**Part Seven**

Chapter One: Flee

They hugged to the corridor's walls, moving as fast as they dare through the huge ssi-ruuvi ship, back towards the _Falcon_. There was a sense of panic from the crew, but they didn't meet any resistance on the way out. It was only a few meters to the ramp-way Han and Chewie had found on the way in; if they got there they would be safe.   
  
Or, at least, safer.   
  
Chewie went first, bowcaster ready, Han next, managing to carry the still-groggy Luke and keep his blaster ready, and Leia last, senses alert for any approaching ssi-ruuk. Despite the obvious destruction in the entechment bay, the corridors were still ominously quiet.~  
  
"They've got something else ready." Han said. Leia just nodded, concentrating.   
  
They were nearly to the hatch when her danger sense flared.  
  
"Wait!" she whispered harshly. She grabbed on to the sleeve of Han's jacket and pulled him back towards her.   
  
Han skidded to a stop, looking round anxiously. There was nothing different about this are of corridor. When he didn't see anything he turned to her "What?" he asked.  
  
She shook her head confused. She had been sure there was something wrong here. Han looked at her again, not wanting to ignore her instincts but knowing they had to keep moving if they were going to get off the ship before the aliens thought of some way of stopping them. He started to move forward again,  
  
"Wait!" She said again, moving in front of him and standing at the intersection between two corridor sections. A thin black line that ran from deck to ceiling and across surrounded the wall. It could just have been the join between two sections of bulkhead, but she lit the lightsaber and gingerly sliced of a corner of her top. She bent and gingerly placed it on the floor, then with the tip of her foot she slid it forward.   
  
Han watched impatiently "Leia, we have too-" he cut of as the cloth sparked and frazzled, streaks of light coursed in-front of them and when they stopped, the cloth was just charred ash. Han whistled softly.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Mara flicked on the channel to Han as the cruiser began its fiery descent.   
  
"Han!" she called, trying to concentrate on flying at the same time. There was no answer to her call and she sprayed a hail of fire into yet another of the stubborn droids. "Come on, come on. " she whispered impatiently.'  
  
"Mara?"  
  
"Han, you've got problems-"  
  
"-Your telling me-"  
  
"Borak's ships is going down."   
  
Han paused, catching the taughtness in her voice and the muffled sounds of explosions coming across the comm..  
  
"Where?" He asked  
  
"Right on top of you."   
  
Han swore. "We're stuck, we can't get through." He said. "Some sort of electricity field blocking the way back to the _Falcon_.  
  
"You have to, the whole ship will blow."  
  
"How long?" He asked, and she could hear Leia in the background, asking what was happening.  
  
"About 3 minutes, tops." Mara said. There was a deadly silence from the comm.  
  
"Get the fleet away from here." He said, at last.  
  
"Han-" she started  
  
"Don't worry about it, Mara." He said. "Now, get going." there was the click of the comm and her cockpit was silent, again.  
  
  
---  
  
  
"What's going on?" Leia said again as Han flicked off the comlink. He placed the device back in a top pocket and moved back away from the stun trap, studying the corridor behind them.  
  
"It's a long story, but we have 3 minutes before this whole ship explodes." He studied at the stun trap, feeling helpless. "We have to go round." Even as he said it he moved back to help Luke to his feet again.  
  
"No, wait."   
  
They both looked over at Luke, leaning back against the bulkhead. "Luke-"  
  
"Wait." he said again, gaze intense. And then, Leia understood.  
  
"Right." she said. Han began to object but Leia quieted him. Luke closed his eyes and Han looked around anxiously, not sure what was happening. There was a thunderous crack above them, cutting through the air. Han leaped out of the way of sparks that rained down from the ceiling.   
  
"What the-"Leia stepped in beside Luke and caught him as he sagged.  
  
"Come on." She said, slinging her brothers arm across her shoulder and walking towards the trap.   
Han's heart leaped "Leia!" he called as she walked to the trap. He winced but they passed through unharmed.  
  
"Come on." She said again, sterner and impatient. Han didn't wait any longer, though whether it was because of the lack of time or the tone in his wife's voice he would never say. He took Luke from her, motioning Chewie forward. They reached the ramp on the far side and climbed in.  
  
"How long?"  
  
"2 minutes."  
  
  
---  
  
  
Captain Sha'trok stared out in horror at the flaming ship diving down towards them.  
  
"Fire the engines!" he called, panic stirring his voice.  
  
"We can't sir! They're down" one of the techs called across the bridge.   
  
"Get us out of here!" He shouted.  
  
"All systems are down sir. We can't move."  
  
The Captain paced frantically in front of the screen. "Fire all guns. Blow it out the sky."  
  
"Aye sir!" his weapons officer said, but they all knew it was a futile gesture. The pride of the ssi-ruuvi fleet was going down.  
  
---  
  
  
Mara watched the huge ships weapons lance out futility at the falling ship. Flames raged across the republic cruiser's surface, eating up the oxygen inside the ship. Mara knew everyone on board was already dead. Which was probably a good thing. She looked anxiously at the _Falcon_ perched on the side of the ship, then the chrono.   
  
1 minute.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Han raced ahead, seeing the small airlock. They had less than a minute, and that was assuming Mara hadn't been too optimistic. Throwing the _Falcon's_ hatch open, he sprinted for the cockpit, turning on the doorframe as he raced around the circular corridor and headed for the cockpit. Leia was hot on his heels, Chewie secured the hatch and raced to the back of the ship.   
  
Reaching the cockpit, Han dumped Luke unceremoniously onto one of the spare chairs and slid with practised ease into the pilots chair, hands working frantically over the controls. The board flickered into the life and the cockpit was flooded with light. There was a quiet thunk and the ship floated free of the cruiser's hull suddenly, Chewie having released the landing claw.   
  
Han had the engines running already, the fast start-up still seeming achingly slow. Leia slipped into the seat next to Luke as Chewie bustled past her and into the co-pilot's seat. Han yanked the controls and the ship began to turn, slowly.   
  
The sight that slid into view across the cockpit nearly froze them all. The republic cruiser filled the screen, writhing in its fiery death, engulfed in flames which cast a vicious orange glow across them.   
  
It bore down on them, close enough that they could almost imagine they could feel the heat. Leia gasped as the mammoth ship fell towards them.  
  
"Sweet gods of-"  
  
She cut off as the _Falcon_ jumped into action like a startled mynock, throwing her back into her seat, the words gone out of her.  
Chewie howled as the fires coursed across the falcon's own hull. Han gritted his teeth and kept the ship on course.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Mara watched as the two ships collided, the smaller one crumpling against the side of the ssi-ruuk cruiser. She held her breath as a huge fireball erupted from the collision, bright orange washing across space, both ships hidden by the explosion. From the edge of the explosion small black speck appeared, tiny against the mammoth ships. Mara gasped, staring intently at the little ship and hoping she could believe her eyes.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Leia clung to the seat's edge as the blazing hull rocketed past, the _Falcon_ picking up speed with every second. The whole cockpit was a blinding orange and she dare hardly open her eyes. She heard a tremendous crack behind them and a split second later the _Falcon_ was tumbling forward like a toy tumbling from the hands of a child in the throws of a temper tantrum, with Han fighting with the controls.  
  
Riding the front of the explosion, fire and debris spinning ahead of them, they sped away from the destruction that marked the death of the ssi-ruuk cruiser and her crew.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Han threw the _Falcon_ around and reversed in a brutal smugglers-stop, cutting off the speed. Stars spun momentarily and the _Falcon_ hung in space, all it's occupants not moving or speaking as they watched the final death throws of the two cruisers. Han was the first to move, checking the _Falcon's_ systems.  
  
"Damn." He whispered.  
  
"What?" Leia asked, not really wanting to know, not able to take her eyes of the two capital ships still burning.  
  
"The hyperdrive is fried." He said, in reply, turning to her "Along with all the weapons." He added ryely.  
  
"It could have been a lot worse." She pointed out, coming to look over the diagnostics with Han.  
  
Luke leaned forward, "A lot worse." he echoed. Han looked out the cockpit at the burning ssi-ruuk ship, the dead ship falling closer to   
the massive gas giant.  
  
"Definitely."   
  
The comm sprang into life,  
  
"Solo?" a familiar voice came across the comm as the screen began to coalesce into an image  
  
"Right here, Jade." He assured her, hearing the tension in her voice.  
  
"You like to cut it close, don't you?" She said ryely, her eyes smiling.  
  
"Mara?" Luke asked, confused, leaning forward.   
  
Mara nodded at him. "Good to see you too, Skywalker." She said.  
  
He nodded back, still holding onto the side of the chair. "You okay? You look a little pale." She frowned at him. Han and Leia looked up at him. He managed a weak smile.   
  
"I'm fine I just-" he fainted to the floor.  
  
---  
  
  
Leia left Luke on the _Falcon's_ bunk in the main hold as the _Jade's Fire_ docked with the _Falcon_, the resounding clank of connecting airlocks ringing on the hull. She reached the airlock as Mara stepped through, holstering a blaster on her hip and brushing down a black shipsuit.   
  
"Leia." she greeted her, holding out her hand "It's good to see you." There was an earnestness there Leia wasn't used to hearing. Leia shook her hand, and then pulled her into a quick embrace. To her surprise, Mara didn't pull away.   
  
"Thank you for your help out there." Leia said, moving to walk towards the cockpit. Mara fell into step behind her "No problem, though its really Karrde you want to be paying."  
  
"I bet." Leia laughed as the cockpit door opened to reveal Han bent under one of the consoles.  
  
"Problems?" Mara asked, raising her eyebrows slightly. Han twisted out from underneath the board and grimaced.  
  
"The hyperdrive's shot." Leia said. "Again."   
  
"All things considered, I think you got off light." Mara commented, remembering the inferno that had engulfed the dying capital ships.  
  
"And the weapons." Leia added. Mara laughed.   
  
"You never think of getting a more...." she paused, thinking of the right word "_modern _ship?"  
  
"Very diplomatically put." Leia said.  
  
"No, we don't." Han answered, clambering up, using the seat as a brace. He stared out the cockpit window. "Look's like the ssi-ruuk have a few more problems though." Han said, watching the remains of the big ship falling down into the red planet's atmosphere.  
  
Mara nodded. "How's Luke?" she asked.  
  
Leia sighed. "To be honest, I don't know." she said, turning and leading the way out of cockpit. "I think we need to get him to the nearest Republic base soon, though."   
  
They entered the main hold, Han staying behind in the cockpit. Mara knelt down by Luke's side and stared intently at him, Leia could feel her reaching out to the Force. Mara rocked back on her heels. Leia waited.  
  
"How long until you get the hyperdrive fixed?" She asked at last, opening her eyes again.   
  
Leia shook her head. "A while." she answered, kneeling down beside her brother and brushing back a stray blonde hair from his forehead.  
  
Mara shook her head "Too long. I'll take him." She stood up suddenly.   
  
"Are you sure? Karrde probably wants you back." Leia said.  
  
"Karrde will be fine." Mara answered, stepping away from the bunk. "I have some spare parts onboard the _Fire_, you might be able to use them."  
  
"Thank you." Leia said. Mara just nodded.   
  
"The _'Fire_ has better medical facilities anyway," she said. "and besides-" She cut off as Han swung into the corridor, leaning around the cockpit door.  
  
"Leia." He called.   
  
She looked up at him, saw the seriousness in his face "What is it?" she said.  
  
"Ackbar." Han said and ducked back inside the cockpit.   
  
Leia took a deep breath and headed towards the cockpit.  
  
"I'll go get the '_Fire_ ready." Mara said, moving back to the airlock.  
  
"Okay, and thank you." Leia said, watching as Mara moved for the airlock.   
  
  
---  
  
  
Han sat down in the co-pilot's chair and waited for Leia to arrive. Half the lights were still out, giving it an eerie feel, lit by the red glow of the gas giant in front of them.  
  
Han heard Leia approaching and flicked the display on. Admiral Ackbar appeared, huge eyes peering at him.  
  
"Solo." he greeted him "Where is the Princess?" Han noted the concern in his voice. He opened his mouth to answer but Leia dropped into the pilots seat then  
  
"I'm right here, Admiral" she said. The Admiral relaxed.  
  
"It is good to see you alive, Princess." He said.   
  
Leia nodded. "The ssi-ruuk ship is destroyed, most of the droids have been destroyed too. " She said, her eyes flicking up momentarily to the ship still falling into the planet.   
  
"And Councillor Borak?" Ackbar asked.  
  
Leia grimaced "His ship was destroyed in the explosion that ruined the ssi-ruuvi cruiser." She said.   
  
The Admiral must have caught something in her voice "A suicide run?" He asked.  
  
Leia shook her head "No, not intentionally, anyway." The admiral nodded "And Jedi Skywalker?"   
  
Han looked over at Leia, saw the emotions run quickly across her face before she pulled the mask of calmness back on.   
  
"We got him out." She said at last.  
  
Ackbar waited.  
  
"Mara Jade will be taking him to the nearest medical facility." She said.  
  
"I see..." Ackbar said. "Mara Jade?" he looked curiously at Han.   
  
Han shrugged. "We needed help from wherever we could get it." He answered.   
  
"Did the senate come to any decision?" Leia cut in, avoiding any confrontation over Han's decision to bring smugglers in.  
  
Ackbar paused, seeing the diversion, but didn't mention it.   
  
"Yes, actually."   
  
Leia looked shocked. "Really?"  
  
"A little late, maybe, but still. Unfortunately the fleet you've destroyed was not the whole fleet. Not by far." Ackbar said gravely.  
  
Leia frowned. "But that was their main ship." She said.   
  
Ackbar shook his head, "Borak's brother said there was an Admiral." He said.  
  
Leia nodded "There was another ssi-ruuk on Sele4 that seemed to be in-charge."  
  
"He's still out there." Han said, quietly.  
  
"Along with a good portion of his fleet." Ackbar nodded.  
  
They were all silent for a moment.  
  
"Do we know where?" she asked.  
  
"We do. And I'm sure, as soon as the council hears of Slastare, they'll have to send out a fleet to meet him." the Admiral said.  
  
"Will it be enough?" she said.  
  
"I hope so. The 12th and 4th fleet, if I can persuade them. The 4th is the biggest we've got."  
  
"How long do you think?" Han asked.  
  
"Oh, at least a week. Your destruction of this fleet will likely set them back a bit. Bu..."  
  
"The next target was Cador wasn't it?" Han said.  
  
"Over 5 million people." Ackbar nodded.  
  
Han blew out a sigh. "Well, it's never over is it?" he said. The silence hung in the air.  
  
"Princess, will you be returning to Coruscant?"  
  
"No, I want to stay with Luke." Ackbar looked troubled at that but just nodded.  
  
"Keep them in order for me." She winked and reached for the comm.  
  
"I'll try." He said and signed off.   
  
Leia leaned back in her seat for a minute, thinking.   
  
Mara walked in through the door "Ready?" she asked. Leia rose heavily out of the seat  
  
"Ready." she said.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Han followed Mara and Leia out of the cockpit and to the airlock. Mara turned to face Han.  
  
"What do you need?" she asked him.   
  
"The ride out blew most of the circuits."   
  
"Well, come on board and see if you can find anything you can use." She said, stepping through. Leia followed them into the _Jades Fire_.   
Though Mara's personal ship was smaller than the _Falcon_, it still managed to feel bigger than the old freighter, and a lot more comfortable despite the moody colours she had decorated it in. "Down there." Mara pointed to a storage room at the far end of the short corridor.  
  
"Right." Han said and he moved past to inspect the contents.  
  
"I doubt I'll have much, not for the hyperdrive anyway." She explained to Leia.  
  
"Well, thank you anyway." Leia said, obviously distracted.  
  
"You can come too, if you want." Mara said, guessing at what was on Leia's mind.  
  
She seemed about to accept but instead shook her head.  
  
"No." she said, "The sooner we can get the _Falcon_ flying again, the better. It won't take that long."  
  
"Well, if you're sure." Mara said, studying her hard.  
  
"I'm sure" Leia replied.  
  
"Come on," Mara said, leading the way to the _Fire's _hold.  
  
Leia knelt down beside Luke and gently brushed her hand across his forehead. His eyes fluttered for a moment and she sighed.  
  
"Are you sure? There's plenty of room." Mara said.  
  
"No, we'll be right behind you." Leia said.  
  
"A day at most." Han said, appearing in the doorway, bundles of parts in his arms.  
  
"Did you find anything useful?" Leia asked him, pulling herself back up to standing.  
  
"Yeah, thanks." He said, nodding at Mara. "Come on, Leia, we should get started."  
  
"Right." With a last look down at Luke she left the room.

  
Chapter Two : Casualty Count

Leia watched out the cockpit as the _'Fire_ moved slowly away from the _Falcon_ and with a flicker of peusedomotion jumped into hyperspace. She sighed; Han came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.  
  
"He'll be fine." He whispered into her ear.  
  
"I know." she said, continuing to stare out of the cockpit. At last she twisted out of his grip  
  
"Come on, let's gets back to those repairs."  
  
  
---  
  
  
Mara made one last check of the coordinates before pulling back the levers and sending the _Jade's Fire_ into hyperspace. The familiar mottled backdrop appeared on the forward screen. She flicked the ship into auto-pilot, letting her droid, Slips, take the controls. It wasn't true autopilot; she disliked having no control at all over the ship, but it would let her sit back and relax. She leaned back in the pilots seat, though it wasn't really designed for lounging and consequently wasn't particularly comfortable. She let the mottled sky take her thoughts and drifted into a quiet sleep.   
  
Mara started at a sound behind her, instinctively reaching for her sleeve blaster as she turned to face the noise. She scowled. "You shouldn't be up." She said, replacing the blaster back into its holster.  
  
Her scowl faded as Luke grinned. "I wouldn't be, if I'd have known you were going to shoot me." He said stepping into the light where the coloured lights threw a dazzling halo over his head. She smiled as her stepped forward,  
  
"Teach you to go sneaking around other people's ships, " she said, but there was only humour in her voice. "Seriously, though, you shouldn't be up." She gestured to the seat beside as she said it, though. "Your sister would kill me." Luke's grin widened.  
  
"I'm fine..." he said sitting down- a little too heavily- and suddenly trailing off. Mara looked at him curiously.  
  
"Sure" she said. He sighed and stared out beyond the cockpit screen, is face set in stone.  
  
"It's gone you know," she offered, recognising that he was fine physically, though not mentally. He turned to her.  
  
"What?"   
  
"The ssi-ruuk ship. It fell into the planet."  
  
"Oh." he said. Tone neutral, turning back to stare forwards and leaning back into the pilots seat.  
  
She sighed, realising she wasn't going to do any good trying to reassure him.   
  
"How far out are we?" He said at last.  
  
She glanced down at the chrono and was mildly surprised to see they were over 11 hours out from Slastare.   
  
"Only a few minutes left." she said, trying not to look flustered.  
  
Luke nodded, not noticing. He leant back again quietly. Strangely, the silence didn't seem to hang between them, instead they both sat in quiet thought.   
  
"Does it hurt??" she asked at length.  
  
"What?" this time he did turn to look at her.   
  
"The..." she couldn't bring herself to say the word 'implant'. His face creased when he realised what she was asking.  
  
"Oh" he said "No. Not really. There are some pain suppression tricks I know."  
  
"Useful" She said "you'll have to teach me them someday." She turned fiery green eyes on him "How about mentally?"  
  
She braced herself for him to close off to her, to run back inside himself. Instead he stared at her, eyes going distant. He swallowed hard before answering.   
  
"Probably not as much as it should." He said, straining to keep his voice.  
  
"Look, Luke-" she started  
  
"Don't Mara, " he interrupted her "Just.... just don't."  
  
She bit back a comment about refusing help, knowing she would just be the same in his position. He folded his arms across his stomach, not so much a defensive gesture as a lonely one.   
  
"I won't," she promised. "But just remember where I am."   
  
He paused "I will."   
  
She nodded, resting her fingers over the hyperspace levers, flicking the ship back to manual control. She glanced over at Luke; glanced again. He was pale, head lolling against the headrest.  
  
"Luke?" she said, reaching over and shaking his arm lightly. When he didn't respond, she shook him harder.  
  
"Luke?" she said again. He moaned slightly, tried to move his head. Mara reached out to the Force, bolstering him as he came back around.   
  
"I think you should get back tot the bunk," she said, gently, but leaving no room for argument.  
  
He just nodded, gripping the edge of the seat like he thought he would fall out. She watched him then turned back to the controls. "Ten seconds to real space" she said, gripping the lever.  
  
She waited for the countdown, and then brought the fire out for hyperspace. The stars reappeared, spinning dizzily.  
  
Mara took her eyes of the screen, and flicker don the comm. She frowned as the 'receive' light blinked at her: they had a message coming in. She flicked through and tuned it to receive. She looked up suddenly as Luke gasped.   
  
"What is it?" she said, staring at hi m. he continued to stare out the view screen.  
  
"Mara-" she followed his gaze.  
  
She gripped the controls tighter. The New Republic station was coming in to view now, or at least, what was left of it was.   
One of their huge modern facilities, barely out of dry dock, tilted half on its side, huge chunks ripped out of it, girders and walkways hanging open to space. Circuits sparked, small fires burning lazily on what was left of the atmosphere.  
  
"Oh sweet stars-" Luke began, but didn't finish, staring stunned at the crippled station, wordless. Debris littered space; the _'Fire_ cruised slowly forward through the small asteroids pelting the hull. The station was eerily dark and quiet. Suddenly, the comm crackled into the life, that message making it through. Mara and Luke listened in silence to the static-filled, panicked voice. 

_' thi-new republic...3-zero. We are...attack. repeat: we...under attack...large fleet...out...hyperspacehails not answered...weapons...down...lower de-...fire...shipsblack...need assistance Any ships...'_

The message clicked, then repeated. Mara turned to Luke  
  
"That was over 6 hours ago," she said. He nodded, closing his eyes and forcing himself to relax. She watched him as he opened them again and shook his head.  
  
"No one."   
  
Mara breathed deep. They were all dead. A station like that could have as many as 8000 crew.   
  
Mara shook her head "All of them." a statement, not a question.  
  
"We have to get onboard," Luke said. Mara turned to look at him "Why? Who are we going to help? They're all dead."  
  
"We need-" he started.  
  
"No. What we need is to get you," she pointed at him "to a medical centre."  
  
Luke just stared at her. "No arguments." she warned.  
  
"We can't just leave," he said with that intense earnestness of his.   
  
"We're not," she said, reaching for the comm.  
  
He frowned at her "What are you doing?"  
  
"Calling your sister. They can deal with this. I meant it when I said she'd kill me if I didn't get you to the nearest bacta tank."  
  
Luke shivered suddenly, turning pale "What?" she asked, concerned. His face drained of colour.  
  
"Nothing." He said "Come on, call Leia."  
  
"Right." She said, tone neutral, not convinced.  
  
She shook her head "They're not responding, they can't have got the comm back up yet."  
  
"They'll be coming here, leave a buoy." Luke offered.  
  
Mara nodded, keying a message to say that they'd been here, but moved on, and then fired it off into space. The trail of the buoy's drive glistened behind it. Mara flicked through nav. charts. "We need another base, " She looked over at him, "Somewhere close."  
She found a likely place "What about this, small port, fairly of the main lanes though. Mining facility. Sounds promising." Luke just shrugged, not really concentrating. She keyed in the coordinates and sent the _'Fire_ back into hyperspace. Luke remained quite, his complexion still pale. Mara switched over to auto-pilot again,  
  
"Come on." she said, standing, "Lets get you back to that bunk." Luke glanced up at her, his expression blank, but didn't resist as she took his arm and helped him up. He led the way back to the bunk, sat down beside him and gave him a sedative, not returning to the cockpit before she was sure he was sleeping soundly.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Leia flicked the last connector into place and replaced the metal cover. "Try that!" she shouted down the corridor.   
  
"Right!" was Han's reply, followed by a low growling from the circuits in front of her. She stepped back quickly as a shower of sparks flew from the panel. "Turn it off!" Leia screamed. The sparks died and the Leia looked disgustedly at the slightly charred panel before gingerly teasing the cover back to look inside. Han appeared by her side and shook his head. "Must be something further down the line," he said. "This is taking too long," Leia said, wrinkling her nose at the arid smell of burned wires. They had been out here nearly twelve hours now, and they still hadn't got the hyperdrive fixed.  
  
"Relax, Mara and Luke won't even be there yet." Han soothed, peering closer at the tangled mass of wires. He reached in and moved one of the wires "Let's try that." he said. Leia just frowned. He turned to her "Relax, Leia. " he said.  
  
"How long is this going to take?"  
  
He shrugged" I don't know," he said honestly. " I think we've nearly got the hyperdrive fixed. The comm could take a lot longer," he said.   
  
She sighed, tensing "Han-"  
  
"We can skip the comm and repair it enroute," he said, seeing the expression on her face. She looked up at him, found him smiling. He knew her too well "Thanks." She said.  
  
"No problem." He answered, heading into the cockpit "Ready?" he called.   
  
"Ready!" she called back. The circuit hummed to life, Leia watched it closely but the circuit held.   
  
"That's it!" she called.   
  
"Great!" he called back, appearing again. "Don't worry, a couple more hours and we'll be gone," he winked and she grinned back at him.   
  
  
---  
  
  
Mara took the__ Jade's Fire down through the atmosphere with practiced ease, cutting though the low cloud layer. She opened a channel as the ship dropped down towards the large port sprawled across the surface.  
  
"This is private shuttle _Jade's Fire_, I need permission to land at you medical facility," she said to the controllers when she finally made it through.  
  
"We read you, Jades Fire, you'll have to wait a while for that, we have a lot of Republic casualties coming in." A mans voice answered her.  
  
"How long?" she asked. "I have an injured passenger."  
  
"How injured?" The man came back, "Is he dying?"  
  
Mara considered lying, decided she'd just be chased away when she landed if she did  
  
"No, he's unconscious. He needs immediate help." She answered.  
  
"Well, then it'll be at least 6 hours before we can get you down," he said, obviously not really caring. Mara sighed, barely audibly and reached out with the Force, touching the man's mind.   
  
"You will let us land," she said, emphasising every word. The man hesitated a while and Mara thought for a moment that it hadn't worked.  
  
"I'll ...let you land." he said slowly, confused.  
  
"Thank you." She said, hurriedly switching off the comm before he could reply and banking the ship around towards the medical building.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Leia sat in the pilots seat, trying not to feel too anxious as the clock counted down to real space. Han and Chewie were still working on the comm, she could hear faint bangs and curses from the aft of the ship, but they should have nearly got it fixed by now, hopefully anyway. Han had, for one of the few times in his life, trusted someone else to bring the falcon out of hyperspace. There was only a couple of minutes to go before she had to pull back the levers, but for some reason she felt slightly apprehensive. She didn't really know what it was: just a nagging feeling in the back of her mind. Probably it was the ludicrous fear that she might actually do something wrong, born out of Han's unusual act of trusting her with the ships' well being.   
  
But whatever it was, it was there, and it was annoying. She flicked on the intra-ship comm and the sounds of Han and Chewie working suddenly filled the cockpit. At least that part of the system was back up.  
  
"Han." she called.  
  
"Look it goes _there_, not there, _there_!"  
  
"Han!" she called again,   
  
"Leia?" he called back, then suddenly his voice rose a note, "What's wrong?" the paranoia about his ship was obvious.  
  
"Nothing's wrong," she said, slightly annoyed at his lack of confidence in her "We've got two minutes to realspace. Is the comm up yet, we don't want to fly in there without a transponder."   
  
"Oh, right." her husband said, though she couldn't hear any chagrin there "It _should_ work."   
  
"Great." she said, a little too sarcastically.  
  
"You need me in the cockpit?" he asked, not able to get rid of his discomfort with having someone else pilot.  
  
"No, Han, it's fine." she laughed.   
  
"UhhOkay..."  
  
She cut of the comm and took hold of the hyperspace levers. The comm lights started to flick on across the board, all showing green.   
  
Hopefully they would stay that way.   
  
The counter reached zero, and with a sense of trepidation she pulled back.   
  
The mottled space warped into starlines and with the slight spinning sensation the stars reappeared.   
She froze, just for a second, then gasped, grasping for the controls and sending the _Falcon_ into a stomach-churning twist as the it bore down on a huge chunk of debris. Leia gritted her teeth and pulled the _Falcon_ up out of the turn, fighting to slow it down and keep clear for the debris scattered across space. There was a yelp from the corridor as Han and Chewie ploughed into the walls from her sudden manoeuvre.  
  
"Han!" She called over the comm., "We've-" she cut of as another piece of the destroyed station appeared. They'd jumped right into the middle of a debris field.   
  
She hit the braking thrusters and _Falcon_ dragged to a stop, the hull shaking from the stress. She swung it round slowly, staring at the destruction of the station. A sudden lump formed in her throat. If Luke and Mara-   
  
But, no. This had happened a long time ago, all the fires had been quenched, and Luke and Mara had only been a few hours ahead of them.   
  
Han appeared in the cockpit doorway.  
  
"What the hell-" he stopped, the anger in his voice turning to quiet shock as he stared out at he lifeless station that floated in front of them.  
  
Silently he slipped into the co-pilots seat, hands moving over the controls "I'm not getting any signs of life." he said quietly, shaking his head.   
  
"Ssi-ruuk?" she asked, though it wasn't really a question.  
  
"Yeah, this whole place is covered in radiation." he said, "We shouldn't stick around." He added, grabbing the controls and banked the _Falcon_ slowly around heading out of the field. Leia sat back in the chair and stared out at the destruction. But if Luke and Mara had-  
Chewie entered, looking a little bashed, Leia stood up and gave him the pilot's seat as they moved slowly and carefully from the destroyed station.  
  
"Leia can you pick up anything from the station?" Han asked, not taking his eyes off the controls.  
  
"No." she shook her head "But I don't know if I would at this distance anyway."  
  
"Okay well- hang on, we've got something out there." He frowned " A message buoy, I think."  
  
Leia leaned forward "From who?" she asked "Is it from Mara?"  
  
"Hang on." he repeated, working at the sensors. He visibly relaxed "Its from the _Jade's Fire_ alright."  
  
So they had not been here when it had happened. Good.   
  
"Bring it in.," she said.  
  
He nodded "Am doing."   
  
They got closer the buoy, but Leia couldn't make it out amongst the debris.   
  
"Okay, it's downloading now." Leia waited anxiously for the download to complete. Suddenly, the comm light began flashing.  
  
"Han." she said, "We've got a message coming through."  
  
"Put it on speakers." he said, reading the screen with the buoy readout on it "It's probably the distress call."   
  
Leia routed it through to the cockpit speakers 

_' thi-new republic...3-zero. We are...attack. repeat: we...under attack...large fleet...out...hyperspacehails not answered...weapons...down...lower de-...fire...shipsblack...need assistance Any ships...'_

Leia looked at Han, her eyes haunted. "Why hasn't anyone responded?" she asked, her voice more than a little tense.  
  
Han shook his head "They were probably being jammed." he said. "As it is, well have to go out of the system if you want to send a message to Coruscant."   
  
Leia sat thoughtfully, resting her chin on her hand as she thought.  
  
"We better send a message out, but...."  
  
"You don't want to wait for anyone to arrive?" he asked. She shook her head.   
  
"No." She answered. "Does Mara say where they went?"  
  
"Yeah. A small mining colony with a base a couple of hours from here." He said, already punching the coordinates in.  
  
"Okay, take us out and I'll make the call, then we'll go meet Mara."  
  
Han nodded; already the twisted wreck was far in the distance.

  
Chapter Three: Already Determined

Mara stepped out through docking bay doors, the wind whipping up her hair as she squinted into the sky. She shivered in the cool air, the cold, desolate world spread in front of her only adding to the cold. The docking platform was crude but functional; the _Jade's Fire_ was in the distance, a streak of red against the dark rocky background. She could, of course, go over to her personal ship and await the arrival of the _Falcon_ there, but the stiff breeze was refreshing compared to the stark recycled air of the compound and the acid taste from the cleansed air in the medical bay. She had left Luke with the doctors, he had been unconscious when they had taken him oFf the ship, and not from the sedative Mara had given him. He was pale and waxen, and despite their best courtesy smiles, she could see the doctors weren't too happy. She also hadn't yet told them who they were, though she'd heard the whispers that had passed between the medics when her back was turned. If they didn't know now, they would soon.   
  
The medical facility wasn't as crude as she had feared: the colony here was relatively new and the medical area had obviously been bought new, and so was as modern as she could have hoped for. Luke had been whisked away, probably to a bacta tank, which, considering his jumpiness about them on the way in meant it was probably a good thing that he was unconscious. They had discovered the implants: one in his arm, one on the top of his scull. They had questioned her, and Mara, though cagey about giving out too much information, had told them all she knew. Which, on reflection, wasn't all that much. They had decided to leave them well alone until Leia arrived. Hopefully, she would know more. Hopefully.   
  
Mara grimaced. There was still an awful lot they didn't know about any of this. They had won the first battle, but she had the sinking feeling it wouldn't be nearly enough to stop the ssi-ruuk attack. And now she was bound, both by her loyalty and her interests in the economics of this area of space, to help the Republic any way she could.   
  
If that meant going back in to battle, well, so be it. She would go, but she didn't have to like it.  
She stared into the sky. The stars she would have expected to see were masked by the cloud of noxious gases the mining plants spewed into the atmosphere. She didn't really know why she was looking for the _Falcon_: she probably wouldn't see it before it go below that toxic layer, and by then it would almost be on top of her.   
  
Her red hair blew across her face in a sudden fierce gust of wind, bringing sharp pieces of flak with it. She put a hand up to cover her eyes and leaned into the relative cover of the colony walls. She thought back to Luke's face on the _Jade's Fire_ on the way in. It had been the first time she had seen him since that whole mess out at Corellia. Both times he had seemed like a different person than he had over the past few years. More at ease with himself, but in some ways even more on edge.   
  
She thought she knew what was wrong, but it was only an idea, and one she wasn't about to voice to anyone. Not yet, anyway.   
She had always admired Luke, not that she would even admit that to anyone but herself, but even on Mkyr she had admired him. But over the past few years, he had seemed to go off in the wrong direction, on the wrong path for him. But then, who was she to talk about wrong paths? For five years after the Emperor's death she had worked with the lowest of the low, done things even she was ashamed of. At some point in everyone's life, there was a time to be ashamed of. Maybe, at last, Luke was finally realising that. She hoped so.  
A sudden glint in the sky caught her eye and she looked up to see the dark shape of a ship descending to the ground like an avenging angle, falling rapidly towards her, it's shadows passing in shivering waves over her.   
  
The _Falcon_ lowered slowly on repulsors as it came closer, the air protesting against it's movement, throwing up a fierce wind. Before it had even settled properly with a hiss of hydraulic landing pads, the ramp lowered and Leia's face could be seen poking out.   
Mara waved to her, seeing the anxiety on her face. Maybe she had sensed that Luke was still unconscious as they approached.   
Leia smiled at her and waved back, quickly pulling the mask of calm over her face as she walked down the ramp, wearing now a plain white ship suit. Mara strode towards her, greeting the shorter woman with a smile and a handshake. The _Falcon's _engines cut off and suddenly the air was quite  
  
"Good to see you Mara," Leia said. Han appeared at the ramp, then Chewbacca. Mara nodded in greeting them, got a smile from each and a casual wave from Han, before turning back to Leia  
  
"And you. Let's go in, it's a bit cold out here." Leia nodded and headed for the door at a fast trot.  
  
  
---   
  
  
  
The blast door shut with a quite hiss and the howl of the wind was cut out. Mara ran a hand through the knots in her hair and turned around to Leia as they walked.  
  
"I haven't told them who we are yet. I thought you might want to keep it discreet. Or at least, as quite as possible for as long as possible." she said as Leia fell into step beside her. Mara began to lead the way down the blanched corridors towards the medical bay.  
  
Leia nodded "I think were going to have to tell them, eventually. But at least I can stop them sending anything out."  
  
"Being Chief of State has some advantages, then." Mara said.  
  
Leia smiled. "I can count them on one hand." she said. Mara arched her eyebrows but didn't say anything.   
  
"We need to take this lift." She said, and they stopped in front of it, waiting for it to arrive.  
  
"Everything fixed on the _Falcon_?" she asked Han. He grunted and turned a sarcastic look to his wookiee sidekick "As much as possible." He said.  
  
"As much as it ever is." Leia put in and managed to get a scowl from her husband.  
  
"We tried to call you when we reached the station, but your comm must have been down."   
  
"That, or the radiation was too strong."  
  
"Whatever. It was a mess, wasn't it?" Mara continued.  
  
"Yes." Leia shivered. "We didn't find any signs of life."  
  
Mara nodded "Luke couldn't sense anyone either." she said.   
  
The lift doors began to open "He was awake?" Leia looked shocked. Two roughly dressed miners stepped out, gaping openly at the strangers. Mara stared back just as openly until they moved on   
  
"Yes, for a short while." She cut off, sounding troubled and stepped into the lift.  
  
"What?" Leia asked.  
  
"He didn't look too good, Leia." She said. The doors shut behind Han and Chewie and the lift began to drop.   
  
"I know." She said, "But as soon as they've got the implant out-"  
  
Mara was shaking her head "They haven't touched the implants. They daren't. Not yet, anyway."   
  
Leia's face was stony "They have to." She said.   
  
"You'll have to tell them that." Mara answered as the lift stopped and they stepped out into a new corridor. The noxious smells of a medical bay wafted through and Leia wrinkled her nose.   
  
They walked down the clean, white corridor, their footsteps echoing off the floor. Mara led them further deep into the complex, past rooms with quietly clicking machinery and closed doors.   
  
"He might be out of the bacta by now." She said, noticing Leia stiffen barely perceptibly behind her at the mention of bacta "But I doubt he'll be awake." They reached a plain door and Mara gestured for Leia to go first.   
  
She seemed to steel herself before passing her hand over the release switch. Han gripped her shoulders, holding her up.   
Mara watched the couple help each other as the entered the room. She didn't know if she could ever be that dependent on someone. Maybe one day.   
  
Inside, the room was the same blanch colour, white walls, floor and ceiling. The same design that seemed to be universal for every medical facility, no matter where you went in the galaxy. Mara followed them into the room, saw them move over to the lone bed in the room. She kept a respectful distance as Leia squeezed the hand of her brother where he lay, unconscious, on the bed. She heard Han whisper, "He'll be all right." in her ear.  
  
"Miss Jade?" She twisted at the voice, saw the head medic behind her.  
  
"Yes." she said then looked back at Luke "How is he?" she asked.   
  
The medic shrugged, a frown furrowing his balding features "Better than we could have hoped. In fact, he's doing remarkably well considering his condition when you brought him in."   
  
Mara suppressed a smile. There were also some advantages to being a Jedi.   
  
"He'll recover then?"   
  
The medic shrugged. "These things are always in the hand's of fate." he answered "But.... yes, I think so."   
  
Leia approached, leaving Han by Luke's side. "He's gong to be okay?" she asked.   
  
The medic frowned again, glancing at Leia, then looked at Mara, eyebrows raised.  
  
"This is his sister." Mara explained.   
  
"Ahh..." he said "Yes, I think-" he cut of, looking at Leia with sudden shock.   
  
"What?" Leia asked, concerned, glancing worriedly at Mara. The media stared at her, then Han and Chewie, and lastly at Luke.   
  
"Great stars... " He whispered. Leia understood.  
  
"Please, is he going to be okay?" she asked again.  
  
"President Organa-Solo?" he asked, his voice shaky.  
  
"He'll be fine, Leia." Mara answered for him. The man put a hand up to his ruddy cheeks and shook his head.   
  
"He's supposed to be dead!"  
  
"Well, he's not." Mara cut the man off, wishing he would pull himself together. The man, sensing her annoyance, seemed to jar himself back to reality.  
  
"Oh, ummYes. I'm hoping he might wake up in a day or two." He said, moving to the bedside.   
  
Mara walked with him and got her first good look at Luke's face. She had to admit, he did look a bit better. His features were still waxen but he looked stronger.   
  
"Did you tell Ackbar where we are?" Mara asked Leia.  
  
"Yes, but he's not telling anyone."Sshe turned a stern look onto the medic "And I don't want this getting out." she said.  
  
"Oh, of course not, Madam President...umm...Madame Organa-Solo...Chief of-"  
  
"Leia will do fine."  
  
  
---  
  
  
Leia dropped down heavily into one of the apartment's tatty old chairs and pulled at the stuffing poking out the edge of the frayed stitching. Han dropped down beside her, letting the last of their travel bags fall to the floor. The apartment reminded her of the one they had had on Bespin, only not so flashy. The furniture was older, the view not so striking: looking out across a craggy landscape of canyons and mountain ranges of stone bathed in the blue dusk light.   
  
She stretched her arms out above her head and leaned back into the chair. They'd left Luke in the medical bay and fetched their bags. It was the middle of the night locally, but she wasn't really tired.   
  
She felt like she should be _doing_ something, but she didn't know what. Mara had gone back the _Jade's Fire_, preferring to stay onboard her ship -and probably contact Karrde- than to take the accommodations here. She couldn't really blame her, either.   
  
Han pulled himself out of the seat and walked towards the kitchen area. "You want anything to drink?" he asked her.   
  
She stretched again. "Umm.... any hot chocolate?" she asked.   
  
Han smirked and rolled his eyes "Skywalker's..." he mumbled.   
  
Leia grinned. Luke had introduced her to the drink and, frankly, she found it irresistible. Han though, thought it beneath him to drink the stuff. But then, he did drink Correllian whiskey-   
  
There was a laugh from the kitchen.   
  
"What?" Leia called, levering up from her chair and walked over. Han poked his head around the corner and held up a bowl-shaped object.   
  
"They have kettles." He said. "Only this place and the Alliance are poor enough to use a kettle."   
  
  
---  
  
  
Mara waited patiently for the Solo's to arrive at the med centre. They had been here two days now. Mara had contacted Karrde, and, though she had objected, he had told her to stay here with them, at least until they knew what the situation with the ssi-ruuk was. Mara didn't like it; she felt she should be doing something, instead of sitting around here. She wondered darkly if it was Karrde being over protective of her or Skywalker. Or both of them. He seemed eager to see them talking together. She shook her head. One day, she would figure it out.   
  
Leia and Han appeared in the distance, the wookiee in tow. The chief medic had called to say Luke was awake, sooner than he had hoped for too. It looked like it was going to be okay.   
  
But then, Mara wasn't counting the victories yet.  
  
"Mara." Leia nodded, she looked tired but stronger than when they had arrived here, Mara thought.   
  
"Ready?" Han stood beside the door control.  
  
"Yeah." Leia answered and door slid open.   
  
---  
  
  
  
Luke blinked against the bright lights and tried to turn his head. A spasm of pain shot up his neck and he winced. The world around him was hazy and shifting, the lights all but blinding. A dark figure appeared over them and he blinked, trying to make out the strange images that floated in front of him.  
  
"Luke?"  
  
He knew that voice, but his memories were scattered and muddled and he couldn't place it. He blinked again, frustrated. He tried to concentrate on his surroundings: he was laid down, on a bed, he thought, the soft curves underneath him. He could faintly hear voices, but not the words they said.   
  
"Luke, its Leia." A hand squeezed his own, clasping on tightly. She appeared over him, brown hair framing her still-beautiful face as she smiled gently down at him.   
  
The image was out of focus but he could start to see things now. He tried to move his head again.  
  
"Don't let him move." An unfamiliar voice said sternly, followed by two firm hands pressing him down. "Relax."   
He blinked again and saw Leia more clearly, standing next to him. His balance was off, it felt like the bed was tilting and he resisted the urge to grab the sides to stop the dizzy feeling. She grinned down at him when she saw he could see her,  
  
"Well, it's about time. You planning on sleeping forever?" Her voice was genuinely joking. She was, for the first time since Luke had seen her in months, truly relaxed.  
  
"I think I've slept enough." He managed, working to force the words out off parched lips. He tried to sit up again. But, again, firm hands held him down.  
  
"Relax, kid." That was Han's voice, but he didn't turn his head to look, remembering the shivering pain from when he'd first woken. He felt someone step closer and Leia turned away from him.  
  
"What's that?" she asked sounding concerned.  
  
"It's just a pain-killer." that unfamiliar voice replied. There was a prick against his arm that he hardly felt and suddenly the fog around his mind began to clear.  
  
"Where am I?" His voice sounded better.  
  
"Quanti. A small mining colony." He frowned not recognising the name. "Don't worry about it." Leia said as she moved back into his view. "Do you remember what happened?"  
  
He thought hard; trying to piece together the fragments of his memory "I think so." He said uncertainly.  
  
"Don't worry, temporary memory loss is perfectly normal." The voice said. A medic, probably, he decided, "It'll back within a few hours, maybe less."   
  
Luke nodded, regretted the action.   
  
"I said don't move." The man admonished him.  
  
"Sorry." Luke said sheepishly. There was a laugh from the background.  
  
"Mara?"  
  
"Yes, Luke." she stepped into his field of view "I'm here." She leaned over him, her red hair pulled into a loose plait behind her "You're looking a lot better." she smiled.  
  
"What happened?" He asked. Leia looked worriedly over at the medic, but then turned back to Luke "The ssi-ruuk cruiser fell into Slastare," she said, "They're long gone."   
  
Luke tired to remember had vague images of a huge red gas giant he thought was associated with that name.   
  
"Gone?" He asked, not knowing why there was trepidation and quite hope in his voice when he said it.   
  
She smiled "Long gone." She repeated. He relaxed into the pillows and closed his eyes.   
  
"I think that's it for now..." the medic said.  
  
Luke's eyes flew open and he recoiled as the short man approached holding a needle, ignoring the pain it caused.  
  
"No."   
  
His voice wasn't good, shaking. Something about the idea of the situation repulsed him. Leia looked down worriedly at him, but saw the confusion in his face. She stepped up to the medic and pulled him off to a corner, whispering quietly so that Luke couldn't hear them.   
  
Mara watched them anxiously then turned back and smiled reassuringly at him. Leia and the medic returned.   
  
"Okay, no needle, but you do need to rest." He said.   
  
"Come on," Leia said, taking Mara's hand and beginning to lead her away. She looked down at Luke. "Try and sleep, we'll be back soon." she said, still smiling gently.   
  
Han appeared, grinning slowly "Good to see you again, kid." he said before disappearing after Mara and Leia. Luke stared up at the blank ceiling and waited for sleep to come.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Leia turned over against the pillow, hair scrawled across her face. She clutched at the soft pillow and buried her head deeper into its folds, hoping the annoying beeping was just in her mind. It wasn't, it thrummed against her temples in time to her heartbeat. She was tempted to just pull the duvet closer and forget about it, but she remembered the last time she had ignored a call for the sake of sleep. The memory sticking uncomfortably in her throat, she pushed the quilt away and padded softly across the lounge area to the comm. Pushing straggled hair from her eyes she switched the comm on.   
  
Her young children appeared on the screen, excitably clustering around the pickup. Her eyes went to Anakin, his slightly blonde hair messed from sleep: it would be morning on Coruscant. She remembered too what that other call she'd missed had been about. Gathering her children in a smile she realised just how long it had been since she'd held them. Still, they shouldn't have access to the comm, she looked questionably at Jaina, always the responsible one. Jaina smiled sheepishly.   
  
"Mum!" she grinned, her brothers adding their own greetings. "Admiral Ackbar gave us the number." She explained, knowing the first question that would be on her mother's lips.  
  
"I'm glad" she assured her daughter with a smile.   
  
"Are you okay? We've missed you." Jaina put in, trying her best to sound grown-up though Leia could see the childish glee.  
  
"I'm fine." she said, "you, though, won't be if threepio catches you."  
  
Her children just shrugged "Admiral Ackbar said it was okay. He said you'd found Uncle Luke." Jaina's deep brown eyes searched her mothers face, waiting for a reply.  
  
Leia nodded, smiling "Yes, we did."  
  
"Is he ok?" Anakin pushed to the front, eliciting a scowl from Jacen, "He is ok, isn't he?"  
  
"He's going to be fine." Leia assured him, her dusky tones deeper from sleep.  
  
"Are you coming home?" There was hope in his voice when he said, his eyes lighting up, waiting for a good answer.  
  
"I don't know yet." she answered him truthfully "We have to see how things go."Jaina wrinkled her brow "But I thought the ship was blown up." Leia smiled at the hint of pleasure in her voice at the words blown up'.  
  
"It was, but there are still some others." she answered, not sure how much she should tell her children, and how much should be said over this insecure channel.   
  
"Oh." Anakin looked downcast "but you'll come home soon??"   
  
"Yes."  
  
"And bring Uncle Luke?"  
  
She nodded as Jacen pushed his little brother out the way.   
  
  


"Where's dad?" he asked, ever suspicious  
  
"Still sleeping." _funny how he manages to always pass these tasks onto me_. Only this wasn't a task, it was the first time she had actually seen Anakin grinning quite so widely in a long time. There was definitely no task.   
Suddenly all three children turned at a noise in the room. Threepio's voice drifted over the comm  
  
"Master Anakin? It's time for- oh, my! Mistress Leia!" the droid started as her saw Leia's face.  
  
"Hello, threepio, everything okay? " she asked, greeting the droid.  
  
He seemed to step back from her in shock "Of course." he said nonchalantly. There was a barrage of whistles as Artoo entered and beeped frantically at the comm   
  
"I was coming to that, Artoo." Threepio admonished his diminutive counterpart. He turned back to the pickup "Artoo wishes to know how master Luke is." Leia  
  
smiled at the ever-faithful little droid   
  
"He's fine." then amended "Or, at least, he will be fine."  
  
Threepio, though his expression couldn't change, seemed genuinely pleased "Then you will be returning soon?" he asked, and Leia heard the hope there, despite his protestations Threepio really wasn't suited as nursemaid   
  
"As soon as we can." she said hiding a grin.   
  
"Ah, well, give our best wishes to Master Luke." the protocol droid said, moving to herd the children away "I'm sorry for the call, I didn't know the children could access the comm."  
  
"That's all right, I'm glad to see them." she assured him. "We'll be back soon."   
  
Threepio nodded and Leia cut off the comm and leaned back into the rickety seat. She leaned her head onto her hand and stared out to the starless night beyond the window. Small ships lifted up from the far docking platforms and Leia watched them spark across the deep blue sky, falling slowly into a deep, thoughtless sleep.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Leia perched on the bedside and studied Luke's face intently before smiling at her brother   
  
"You look a lot better," she said as he pushed up into a sitting position. Han took his position in the chair next to the bed, flopping down casually as Mara stood off at some distance.  
  
"I feel a lot better." He said. "When can we get out of here?"   
  
Leia frowned. " Not for another couple of days at least." she said, squeezing his hand. He _did_ look better.   
  
Luke opened his mouth to protest but his sister cut him off,   
  
"No arguments," she warned him.   
  
He shut his mouth and grinned "Yes, ma'am." There was a choked chuckle from his side and Leia turned to look at Han.   
  
Mara stepped forward. "Will you be going straight back to Coruscant?" She asked, red hair flowing loosely around he shoulders.   
  
"We hope so." Leia said. "Its all right, you don't have to stay around."  
  
"Its no problem." she said "And besides, Karrde want me to stay with you."  
  
"And keep up on the latest in the ssi-ruuk?"   
  
Mara shrugged. "Well, we-" she cut of and Mara swivelled on her foot as Leia looked towards the far door. The head medic stepped through, and strode purposefully towards Leia, looking a little flushed.  
  
"Madame?" he asked, his words betraying a slight tremble.   
  
"What is it?" she asked, frowning slightly at the small man. Mara stepped closer adding her own deep frown.  
  
"Madame, you have a call coming in from Coruscant." The little man bustled to get the words out "It's coded scramble nine."   
  
Leia felt a ripple of shock coarse through her body and saw Mara step backwards in shock  
  
"Scramble nine? Isn't that-"  
  
"Top priority, only used in extreme circumstances." Leia finished, her tone strangely mute. She turned to the medic, "Where's your most secure comm room?" she asked.   
  
The smaller man pushed a hand across his eyes, thinking, before answering "My office probably."   
Leia nodded and headed for the door. "Show me." She said, quickly crossing the room. Han moved to stand up but she waved him down. "Sorry." she said. "But you know the rules."   
  
He seemed about to protest but just nodded and slumped back into his chair. "Good luck." he said quietly to her retreating back.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Leia watched the retreating medic before reaching to the console and punching in her identification code. Under normal circumstances the comm system wouldn't be secure enough for this kind of priority but if Ackbar felt it was serious enough- and he was the only one who knew she was here- then she had better reply and soon. The screen fizzled for a while before coalescing into the new republic symbol. Leia held her hand against the keypad and felt the tingle a thin beam passed across and registered her.   
  
Suddenly the Admiral appeared with a small blinking red message at the bottom that read recorded'.   
  
Leia frowned. Somehow she'd expected a real time message. The need for a pre-recorded message was ominous.   
  
The playback started and she listened as the admiral began to talk.   
  
"Princess Leia." he started formally, his eyes grave. "I'm sending this whilst on board the cruiser Redemption en route to Bosse." he paused, and Leia tried to recall where she'd heard that name before. "The ssi-ruuk have stepped up their attack. Bosse was not supposed to be attacked for a long time yet, but Cador has been taken. A sudden pincer attack yesterday, and Bosse has gone silent."   
  
He leaned closer in. "Leia, I fear we have greatly underestimated their ability to recover. We must move know. The 9th fleet is moving with us to Bosse. President Gaviscom has ordered us to attack."  
  
"Leia, stay where you are. Any route out to Coruscant is likely to be littered with ssi-ruuk interdictors. Stay with Jedi Skywalker. He'll need you."  
  
"Good luck, and may the Force be with you." The screen blinked twice before going dark.  
  
"And to you, Admiral..." She whispered.  
  
  
---  
  
  
"Leia, we can't just sit back here." Han protested, barely keeping his seat. Leia perched on a table edge, feeling the piercing gaze of her brother but not looking at him.   
  
"What can one ship do against the whole ssi-ruuk fleet??" she said "We're not going to help anyone by getting killed."  
  
"Two ships." Mara put in.  
  
Leia turned to her "Do you think you can get Karrde's group out to help us?"   
  
Mara looked troubled "I don't think I can do that. We suffered some bad losses at Slastare and I don't think they'd be much help. Bosse is pretty far away from where I sent the fleet. They'd never get repaired and reach it in time."   
  
"Okay, so that's not an option. What else do we have?" Han asked,   
  
"Not a lot." Leia said, shaking her head and folding her arms across her stomach. "The 9th fleet is going out there. The 5th might be able to join them in a couple of days. They're the two biggest we have."  
  
"We'll never beat them on numbers." Han pointed out.   
  
" Well, unfortunately we don't have any miracle weapons to throw at them." She sighed.  
  
"Or maybe we do."   
  
All eyes turned to Luke, "What?" Han asked.  
  
"We might be able to use the technology in this implant." he tapped the side of his head "To control the druids."   
  
"We don't have the time to look into it." Leia said bitterly.   
  
"Well, _I_ can still use it." He said.   
  
She looked up sharply "No you don't." she warned "No stupid crusades." She said, and they could all hear the dread in her words.   
  
"Leia, it's the best we've got."  
  
"I don't care." She shook here head, firm.  
  
But she knew the minute he'd said it that there really wasn't any other way to win this, and that, in the end, she'd have to give in. He had to know that too and, mercifully, he had the sense not to push her.   
  
She sighed deeply. "Okay, but not yet."  
  
"Leia-"  
  
"Not yet." She insisted. We wait at least another day. Bosse is closer to here than Coruscant. Even if we left now we would be way ahead of the fleet."  
  
"Is that such a bad thing?" Han put in, leaning against the back wall. "We might be able to use a head start."  
  
Leia nodded "I agree." She said "But I don't think we can risk running into the ssi-ruuk fleet on our own." She shook her head slowly   
  
"We have to wait."

  
Chapter Four: the Final Phase  
  
Luke sat down on the edge of the bed and stared around the empty bay, feeling like the only walls he'd been seeing in the last few days were white clinical ones, the only smells the sharp medicinal smells that bit at the senses. His mind wandered to the lush, free smells of Yavin Four, or the dry bitterness of the Tatooine desert. He laughed; even the cloyey Coruscant would be a welcome to change to the universal medical centre.  
  
"Hey, you awake." The words swept slowly into his consciousness, drifting slowly. Finally, his perception caught up and he turned to face the speaker.  
  
"I was just thinking," he said. Mara arched an eyebrow at that, but instead of the usual sharp remark he might have expected she circled the bed and sat down beside him. Maybe she understood that right now he had a lot of thinking to do.  
  
"Not much time left for that now." She said, shifting slightly.  
  
He nodded "No, I suppose not." He said, knowing she was studying the distant look in his eyes but not really caring. They were going back out there- to Bosse. To the ssi-ruuk. Whatever memories they now conjured up to him, they had to go back out there and, in some way, put it behind them. Or at least try to.   
  
"We should go. Leia sent me up to get you." Mara said, standing up uncertainly and, as a strange look crossed her features. Offering him her hand. Luke looked up at her, not quite sure how deep the gesture went. He decided to take it at face value. Accepting the hand he allowed her to help him stand.  
  
"You sure you're up to this?" She asked him trying, unsuccessfully, to hide her concern.   
  
He looked up her and smiled "Sure." He said. She seemed to see something in his eyes as she studied him; she moved away "I'll be following you in the _Jade's Fire_." She said, heading for the door.  
  
"Following?" He frowned at her. "You're not going back to Karrde."  
  
"No." She said, pausing in front of the door, keeping her back to him "Karrde wants me to stay along."  
  
Luke felt his forehead crease, there was something in her sense; she wasn't telling him the truth. Or, at least, not the whole truth anyway. Perhaps it was just loyalty.  
  
The door swooshed upwards and he followed her into the corridor. He didn't feel as bad as he feared he would. Laid down for days, he'd expected to feel tired when he'd got up. Instead, he felt more rested than he had in days.   
  
Mara seemed to know where she was going, moving with confidence through the corridors. At last, they reached a heavily shielded door: a door to the outside probably. Mara reached for the control, then turned back to him. "It gets pretty windy out there." She said as he approached and stood beside her. Her gaze on him went deeper as he felt her presence reach out to his. Probably trying to decide if he really was well enough for this. Finally her piercing green eyes fell away, and with it her Force sense. She offered him her hand and he raised his own eyebrows, feeling a slight grin spread across his face.  
  
"Hold on to me if it gets a bit gusty." She said, careful to allow no particular emotion into her voice.   
  
Luke wiped the grin from his face, matching her expression, and nodded.   
  
She opened the door and a gust of wind blew in at them, flak thrown around the small room. Luke staggered a little, realising just how much of an understatement Mara's earlier statement was. Beyond the blowing debris he could make out two ships, the large bulk of the _Falcon_, squatting on the platform, looking less stable than normal in the wind, and the small, sleeker modified personal yacht that was the Jades Fire: Mara's personal ship. She grabbed his hand and pushed him forward into the wind. Her hair blew around her face, and she brushed a hand angrily against it.   
  
The wind wasn't as bad as he'd feared, the initial gust probably a result of the different pressures between outside and inside.   
The reached the _Falcon's_ side and Mara shouted over the wind "Go on up! Leia and Han are there." He couldn't really tell what she was saying, but the sense was there none the less. He nodded and as she moved away he grabbed onto her sleeve. She turned to him, startled, but only for a moment. Her red hair flew madly as she swivelled to face him.  
  
"Thank you." He shouted over the wind. His words caught in the air and were blown away but she understood. She stopped for a minute and studied his face, he watched as emotions spread in quick succession across her features. At last she just smiled- an honest, genuine smile that Mara Jade hardly ever showed. It crossed Luke's mind then for a minute that that was shame: she had a beautiful smile. Whilst wondering just what that last thought meant, his attention was brought back the present as Mara squeezed his hand and shouted   
  
"Its okay. Anytime." She smiled again and moved away from him turning her back and heading for the _Jade's Fire_.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Leia turned from her seat as Luke entered the small cockpit.  
  
"We all set?" He asked as he sat down in the seat behind the co-pilot's.   
  
Leia nodded "Just about. Hans just checking the hyperdrive over once more."  
  
She saw him hide a smile at that. "Just to be sure," she said mimicking Han brash casualness with flair. Luke laughed and Leia felt a smile rush across her face too.  
  
"That's good. That's very good." Luke said. Leia just laughed. Behind Luke a dark figure appeared, arms folded across his front in a distinctly suspicious expression.  
  
"What's so funny?" Leia managed to stifle her laughter and coughed "Ahemnothing." she said.  
  
Han stepped into the light "Doesn't sound much like nothing." He said, moving past her to the pilots seat. She just chuckled as he started up the engines.  
  
  
---  
  
  
The shuttle was small but sleek. Hull turning in twisted curves to form a spearhead silhouette that cut the night. The stars seemed to bristle behind it in anticipation, and Admiral Sh'rtokh could emphasise with them. The shuttle crossed the distance between it and the Admiral's flagship -the _Calisaire_- with a grace that was rare amongst even the ssi-ruuvi fleet. Its deep black swallowed the night greedily, its whole persona reeking of anticipation. Sh'rtokh clasped his claws if front of him, tension in his hands digging deep into his skin. The pain, in retrospect, was exquisite; simple and pure where the Admiral's world was rapidly spiralling into the complex and obscure. The ship slipped through the aft docking bay and Sh'rtokh clasped his hands harder, waiting, revelling in the pain that blunted the moment. That ship held a messenger; whether it was a harbinger of doom or not was to be seen, and soon. The messenger's approach to the bridge was almost tangible. Traced, should he have wanted to; should he have dared, but the decks rapidly growing quite at the messengers approach. The Admiral took a steadying breath. A message from His Potency the Shreeftut was not unexpected, but its method of transmission was. For His Potency to have used one of his elite was an unexpected, and unwelcome, move. He doubted the _elite_ would be here if the message was not of consequence. 

Behind him, the quite rise of the door broke his thoughts and he forced his beady to remain relaxed as silently the door closed behind him. A quite, deep breath and Sh'rtokh turned to face his visitor. With a polite but slight bow of the head he offered the messenger the official greeting.  
  
"The _Calisaire_ and the 4th ssi-ruuvi fleet to His Potency the Shreeftut offer their most honourable greetings to you, messenger of the _elite_." He rose slowly from his bow. "Welcome aboard the flagship of the Task."   
  
The messenger turned steely eyes that flashed both knowledge and danger in a shifting cocktail. He was shrouded in a dark, damp cloud of concealed danger, the very air stung by his presence, the room chill.   
  
"It is a pleasure to have boarded." The messenger crowed softly, his voice thick and gravely, using words to weave a net around Sh'rtokh's senses, blinding him as he fought to maintain his own presence in the room. "His Potency is most displeased." The threat was not voiced, his words never venturing above the mildly interested, by Sh'rtokh fought to resist quailing from the fire that burned behind those eyes. "Your errors have been noted." This time the threat was well spoken and clear, his voice smothering with its old intensity.  
  
"The invasion is back on schedule." Sh'rtokh managed, careful to keep his voice below the level of argument.   
  
The cold laughter that erupted from the elite washed over the admiral in a wave of ice that froze his muscles and rooted him to the spot. Warmth fled the small room and Sh'rtokh found himself facing his own failure.  
  
"No ssi-ruuk wants to die away from consecrated ground." The _elite_ spoke softly, weaving the words in delicate snares. "You would be wise to remember that."   
  
Sh'rtokh was too numb to find his voice. Instead, he bowed his head in the deepest of respect. When he found his voice, though shaking, he dared to speak, "You bring another message?" He hazarded the guess, felt the disapproving frown flit across the _elite's_ features.   
  
"No. No message in and off itself."  
  
Sh'rtokh frowned in his turn "Then..."  
  
"I am the message." The _elite_ said. "As of now, you work under and for me."  
  
"I understand." Sh'rtokh said, biting back the bitter taste of dejection from his voice. "And I obey."  


Episode 7 coming up.

Teaser Excerpt

Luke shunted power to the right drive and flicked the _Falcon_ sharply over as one of the sleek fighters came rushing in. It slid beneath their belly and Chewie howled a battle call as turbolaser fire raked it. Chewie hit aft of the engines, punching through the stabilizers and sending the craft careening dead through space.   
  
Luke had the freighter banked starboard and scrapped another craft, Hans cries to take it easy' punctuated with the ricocheting of fire across the smaller ships as it exploded and shook the _Falcon_. Luke's hands flew across the controls, using instinct and the Force to guide them as he acted as pilot and co-pilot and, on the occasions when Han and Chewie missed, he was gunner too as he took control of the forward guns. He was aware of Leia sat beside him, doing what she could to help as she tried to keep up with his manoeuvres. He had his eyes half closed as he relied on the Force more. For now they were just flying for all they were worth, trying to avoid the deadly wave of droids that had descended enmass.  
  
In front of them, an x-wing shattered under the fire from the combined power of one of the jet-black droids and the sleeker, faster fighters. Luke flicked the guns onto the fighter as it burst through the burning corpse of the ship and blew out a sharp burst of fire at the fighter as it swung around to target the _Falcon_. The first burst pierced the weapons relay, melting and liquefying it, the return fire dying before it was even loosed. The next shot took out the main engine, striking with pinpoint accuracy the assembly that held the held the small fusion reactor. The fireball raced across the small ship, engulfing it as the shell fell away from them.  
  
"Nice shot." Han called across the comm as Luke twisted the _Falcon_ again, shifting the rudder back and forth to weave tightly between the dogfights.   
  
"Luke?" Leia said from beside him, her voice laced with concentration and just a little awe.  
  
"I'm listening." He said, sparing her the concentration to turn and look "What is it?"  
  
"Over there." She pointed. He followed her finger to see a group of a-wings struggling under the assault of an army of battle droids.   
  
"You ready?" she asked.  
  
Luke forced a swallow and nodded. "Now for it."


	8. Episode Eight

Disclaimer: you don't really think I'm going to make any money of this do you?? Now if the characters were mine...that would be different, but Im just borrowing them with much gratefullness directed towards Lucas.

This is the FINAL installment of this story...I hope you find it a suitable end, and I would *really* appreciate your comments for future work. Thanks!

There will be an epilogue and authors' notes coming soon...

Abhoration and the Alternative

**Part 8**

Chapter one: trial and error  
  
"How long till were in-system?" Leia's voice interrupted Han's wandering thoughts. He brought his feet of the _Falcon_'s front board and pushed around to face her.  
  
"About an hour." He answered, watching her closely as she moved into the co-pilots seat and double checked her husband's assessment. She nodded "Were going in very slowly." She said.  
  
"That, sweetheart, is because of that large fleet hanging out there scowling in our direction." He pointed out.  
  
"They must have noticed us by now" Leia said, pushing loose hair away from her face as she leaned over the sensors. "Why haven't they done anything?"  
  
Han grunted in laughter "Probably because we're no threat to them. They won't bother us as long as we don't bother them."   
  
"So we just sidle on in there? Wait until they bother to notice us and swat us down." It wasn't hard to hear the disapproval of his plan in her voice.  
  
He shook his head "It won't get that far. I'd expected the fleet to already be here. Whatever's keeping them, I could have just slipped behind that moon." He pointed to the slowly turning orb several thousand kilometres of to their right "But that would have been marginally more suspicious to them than us crawling in. With any luck we'll look like a limping freighter, or and old freighter with a bad sensor package."   
  
She laughed, "The _Falcon_ certainly acts the part." she said.  
  
Han scowled, but he knew she didn't really mean it. Not really.  
  
"Whatever." He said, just a little testily. "This way is safest." He pushed off any lingering embarrassment, "Where's Luke?" Han asked, as if suddenly noting his absence  
  
"I left him sleeping." Leia said, her voice slightly troubled.  
  
Han tried not to sound too worried with his next question, as he turned to face her. "You think it'll work?" he asked. As he looked Leia stared out of the Cockpit, the harsh lighting in the small room accenting her features with a ghastly stark light. "I don't know." She said quietly, then stronger."But then, I guess that's what last-ditch attempts are like. They're last ditch."   
  
Han nodded "You've been around me too much." He commented.  
  
"They've been saying that for years."  
  
Suddenly the comm lit up and Mara's voice flooded the cockpit. "Solo?"  
  
"Right here Mara." Han answered, leaning to the pickup, "What is it."  
  
"I was just wondering if the fact that you're just gently cruising towards the planet could be because you can't see the rather large fleet massing there. Because otherwise, I'd have to classify you as more than marginally insane." The droll humour in her voice cushioned the tension they could hear in it.  
  
Leia's laughter filled the cockpit as Han itched uncomfortably in his seat. Leia peered out past her husbands shoulder, trying to spot the sleek shadow streaked with red that would represent the _Jade's Fire_.   
  
"Feel free to go a bit faster if you want, but I think we'll wait for the new Republic fleet to back us up." Han said, thick sarcasm tainting his words.  
  
"Thanks, but I think that would be giving them an unfair advantage." Mara's humour was as dry as Han's. Leia stared out at the deep black, mentally gauging the difference between them and the ssi-ruuk.  
  
"I hope that fleet turns up soon." She said.  
  
  
---  
  
  
The silence that hung in front of the two small ships seemed impossibly endless. But even in its vastness, the tension was almost palpable, a living thing that writhed, waiting for the agony to descend on it like an avenging angel. It quivered, shook, and the tension brook into a blast of fragmented light that burst in waves through the dead plains. The explosion writhed and died and from it's midst shadows appeared, dark shadows against the intensity. They grew and smothered the explosion, vast figures stretching out with clasping fingers to grab the night. The fleet had arrived.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Leia whispered in awe as gradually the Republic fleet dropped from hyperspace and the slew to almost as slow a crawl as the _Falcon_ was travelling.  
  
"Well, you called it." Han said from beside her, his breath whispering soft against her cheek.  
  
"I guess I did." She said. In front of them the huge capital ships, magnificent in more than just their size, performed graceful turns as more ships exited hyperspace. Fighters dropped from the bays, filling space with swarms of small deadly ships, blacker than even the deep sky against the distant suns glare. Corvettes, gun ships and cruisers at least 50 times the size of the _Falcon_ winked into existence, gun-ports bristling with equally nervous gunners on the end of them. The sky was full, ships clambered for distance and vantage space, and the _Falcon_ lead the front. Han weaved it's way through the maelstrom of blinking hull lights and sleek, tarnished hulls, finding space barely large enough for the _Falcon_ to fit through. Mara, maybe acting out of pride, choose to find her own path through and wove expertly through the mêlée, whisking out of sight. Leia, though she had seen the arrival of far too many fleets in her past, found her eyes drawn to the elegant danger represented in the hundreds of ships, each travelling in excess of hundreds of miles an hour, swirling speechless. The quite whisper of the cockpit door resounded in deep echoes across the cockpit and she tore her eyes from the vista.  
  
Luke stood silhouetted in the doorway. His stance showed no weariness and his face betrayed none of the quite apprehension Leia could feel in him. She didn't reach out and offer solace. She knew that the moment she did, his barriers would be up and there would be no way in. Because Luke's way of handling what had happened was no different to the way she would have. He would contemplate, regrets and guilt flooding him, and then he would put it aside. Because he knew, like she knew, that what happened here depended on what he did. That would be nothing new to him, though, as it would be for her. But to act in the grip of such strong negative emotion was a bad idea, even if he didn't have the Force. No. That was wrong. Emotions were not as easily defined as good and bad, negative and positive. Not even when it came to the Force. But guilt would lead to anger, and anger was of the darkside. Not just that, but allowing your mind to be plagued by emotions ripped apart any concentration you could manage to throw together. And Luke, like her, knew that.   
He stepped forward into the light and placed an arm on the corner of the seat he usually sat in.   
  
"We've arrived, then." He said, and though the tone of his voice was casual, the tone of his emotions was not.   
  
"A few minutes ago." Han said, not taking his eyes off the screen and continuing the little dance they had going on outside.   
  
"You should have woken me."  
  
"We would have done, but the journey in wasn't very interesting." Leia said, the words punctuated with Han's laughter.  
  
"She wanted a quick date with a ssi-ruuvi cruiser." He said and Leia caught the laughter on Luke's lips too. "A bit too much of the Skywalker in her." Han continued and Luke did laugh this time.  
  
"Well, I'm not too keen to get any closer. It looks like a big fleet." He said, the lights of the cockpit throwing an aura across his hair.  
  
"It's bigger." Han answered, as the _Falcon_ broke free of the tangle of fighters to take the point of the force. "Our fleet might be big but theirs swamps it."  
  
"Great. That Mara?" he asked, pointing past Leia's shoulder to a sleek ship that arrowed ahead of them.  
  
"That's her." He said, a grumble entering his tone.  
  
Luke looked questionably at Leia and she laughed now. "A little unofficial race." She explained, "Which we lost, it seems."   
  
  
---  
  
  
The fleet advanced, the ssi-ruuk swinging into an offensive position, welcoming them with open gun ports. Admiral Ackbar sat in the command chair of the newly christened _Starlight_, the Mon Calamari cruiser that was to serve as the home ship. Ackbar had tentatively identified the _Millennium Falcon_ as it swooped past to lead the group, and also the _Jade's 'Fire_, though why the Princess still had smugglers tagging along he didn't guess. The _Starlight_ was cruising forward at a relatively slow pace, allowing all sensors to scrounge as much information as they could about the fleet facing them. And valuable information it was. For all the conflicts involving the ssi-ruuk, very little useful information had made it out intact. And that which they were getting now would likely be hardly enough, but Ackbar knew better than to rush into battle madly. A slow approach not only allowed a full sensor sweep, but also gave the enemy plenty of time to get more than a little scared. Though in this case, the later wasn't likely. Even if the ssi-ruuk were susceptible to strong emotions, which they weren't, the fleet vastly out powered even this; the New Republic's largest. Delaying also gave the backup fleet more chance to arrive on time.  
  
"Sir," the tactical officer spoke up from his station "all squadrons report ready."  
  
"Good. Tell them to hold position until I give the signal." Ackbar turned away from the man towards the comm station.  
  
"Selphie, I want a tight patch to the _Falcon_, get it as secure as you can." Ackbar ordered, his gravely voice echoing across the bridge as the mon calamari officers hustled to their ready positions.   
  
"Got it, sir." Selphie answered with a curt nod at her commanding officer. Her dark hair swept tight into a knot behind her head that emphasised her petite features.  
  
"Thank you." He moved over the pickup built into the chair. "Solo, this is the _Starlight_, do you copy?"  
  
The pickup crackled slightly before resolving into the voice of Han Solo. "We're here, Admiral. Looks like you brought a few extra to the party." The usual flippant tone was there, though laced with just an edge more concern than was usually evident in his voice.  
  
"Let's hope it is enough." The Admiral worked to keep the gravity out of his voice, but knew he had been only partially successful.  
  
"Hope is the beginning of everything worthwhile, Admiral." The Princess spoke up through the Comm.   
  
"That it is." He replied.  
  
"Ten minutes to intercept." The tactical officer called out as the front screen switched to the tactical view of the coming battle. Without the muddled perspective and confusion of physically being amongst those ships, the display showed the true comparison of the fleets.   
The bridge was crewed by men and women too experienced to show fear but the expressions on their faces said enough.  
  
"Is Jedi Skywalker with you?" Ackbar asked into the pickup.   
  
"I'm here, Admiral." The Jedi's voice filtered into the room, rich silk tones betraying none of the tension Ackbar was himself pushing aside.  
  
"The Princess sent a message concerning her plans for the battle." Ackbar said, tone neutral.  
  
"You have reservations?" The Jedi's own voice, though in the same tone, almost commanded an answer. Ackbar swallowed hard.  
  
"The tactics areunorthodox to say the least."  
  
"I know, but we're not going to win this battle by numbers."  
  
"I agree, however trusting our fate to a flimsy hope was what the rebellion was all about." Skywalker finished for him. "At worst we'll only get ourselves killed, we won't interfere with your battles."   
  
"I hardly see that as a positive. You are carrying the Chief of State about that ship." The Admiral worked not to sound disapproving.  
  
"Perhaps she should transfer across"  
  
"The Chief of State is going nowhere." Leia covered her husband and brother's replies before they even started. "I'm staying here, Admiral, where I can be the most useful." The Admiral felt a wave of annoyance as he glanced out at the seemingly tiny _Millennium Falcon_ sweeping through the ranks. But he knew he would never win this battle.   
  
"Very well, but be careful. This is a grave enough day for the New Republic as it stands."   
  
"We will, Admiral." Her smoky tones replied solemnly.  
  
  
---  
  
  
"Five minutes to intercept." A crewer called out across the bridge.   
  
Admiral Sh'rtokh was careful to show no emotion as he stared out at the space in front of them. Space that was rapidly filling with literally thousands of ships crawling with deadly purpose towards the _Calisaire_ and then waiting ssi-ruuvi fleet. Waiting, whilst Sh'rtokh would have wanted to attack. But, the _elite_ standing next to him had ordered a standstill. The brooding presence was overbearing in the small bridge space. He stood very still; the only whisper of movement was his eyes as they studied the tactical display with meticulous detail. Sh'rtokh stood silently by his side, refusing to let his feet shuffle or his mind wander. The _elite_ had a similar effect on the _Calisaire's _crew. Where Sh'rtokh would have expected tension in the ranks, there was only quite concentration.   
  
"They are within firing range." The same crewer called, though there was no hint of tension or eagerness in his voice.  
  
"Wait for them."  
  
  
---  
  
  
The slow journey in was nearly over. The crawl in had been maddening, and Han was itching to get into the battle. Leia and Luke standing next to him were more sober. Luke especially. He stood with his hand gripping hard onto the soft back of his chair, his mind obviously working furiously. Han broke the solid silence.  
  
"Two minutes. You two better get up in the gun-ports." He said.  
  
"Han, I can't do this if I don't have the controls." Luke said, moving closer. Han felt a frown creasing his forehead as he realised what Luke was saying.  
  
"Wait a minute-" he said, hands coming up in a defensive posture "Wait just one minute. Nobody takes the _Falcon_ into battle but me."   
  
He pointed a finger into his chest and scowled some more. Luke laughed and shook his head as Leia chuckled.  
  
"What?" Han demanded, his brow furrowing deeper.  
  
Luke planted his hands on his hips and adopted a scowl of his own. Then, in a perfect imitation Han's dusty tones, he said "I take orders from just one person." he made an exaggerate point at his chest "Me." Leia choked down her hysterics.  
  
"Very funny," Han said, annoyed despite himself "You should do voice-overs or something."  
  
"If the niche for Jedi ever runs out..."  
  
"Your still not getting behind the controls."  
  
"Han"Leia said, sobering as best she could, "This won't work unless he's flying."  
  
Han shuffled in his seat, knowing the battle was already lost. But his pride hadn't realised that yet. He turned to face Luke.  
  
"Look it's not that I don't trust your flying- I do- but the is the _Falcon_. My ship." His words died on his lips. "I must be mad" he grumbled, easing slowly and painfully out of his seat. "But no fancy tricks like Dathomir" he said, staring Luke hard in the eye.  
  
Luke deflected the look easily. "Sure." He said, but there was no promise in his voice.   
  
"Good." Han said, getting the unnerving feeling he was being done. He turned to Leia. "Top or bottom?" he asked.   
  
Leia was about to answer but Luke interrupted "Actually, I could use her up here." He said.  
  
Han looked at him incredulously as Chewie rumbled his problem with being thrown out of the co-pilot's seat.   
  
"First me, now Chewie?!"   
  
"No offence to Chewie." Luke hurried to say as the wookiee started the grumble, "But Leia is attuned to the Force. For this kind of thing, she'd be better."   
  
"Fine." Han said curtly. He shook his head as Chewie started to protest. "Top or bottom?" he asked his partner. The wookiee subsided his moans and harked. "Bottom it is." Han turned to leave as Luke slipped into the pilots seat, then turned on the doorjamb "And Luke?"   
  
Luke looked up as Leia slid past him into the oversized co-pilot's chair.   
  
"Take care of her."  
  
  
---  
  
  
Han smiled lopsidedly then vanished from view. Luke threw a belated smile in his direction before turning back to the boards in front of him. It had been a long time since he'd piloted the _Falcon_.   
  
"I think he's a bit peeved." Leia commented from beside him as she brushed away stray brown wisps of hair from her eyes.   
  
"Well, he wasn't there when we piloted out of Coruscant." Luke said, a boyish grin touching his lips.  
  
"You mean after we took down Black Sun? I was down in the gun-well." She said.  
  
"Same thing." He shrugged easily and she grinned.  
  
"You're going to enjoy this." She said.  
  
"A Jedi does not lust revenge." He said, unemotionally.   
  
"Sure. But blowing up a few lizards won't hurt much." She laughed and Luke shrugged again.   
  
"Maybe." He turned to look out the cockpit, hands poised over the controls. Maybe. But this was war. And people died, good people, people who had nothing to do with any of this. And, though he knew he couldn't deny the guilt and anger he felt, he knew he couldn't let it possess him.   
  
Because he'd been here before, so many times. As soon as you began to enjoy what you were doing you were no better than your enemies; it was to become that which you fought against, you'd end up fighting yourself, and he couldn't afford to let that happen. The ships in front of them hung in space, waiting. Waiting to kill or be killed. Just like they were. Leia looked at him curiously.  
  
"You okay?" she asked.   
  
"Yeah, I'm fine." He said, and knew that it was the truth. He was fine. Even if they died here, he was fine.   
  
Han's voice filled the cockpit and called Leia's attention away. "We're ready, guns are hot." He said, obviously charged for battle. Leia hit the intra-ship comm and called back as Luke gripped the controls, hit the rudder and twisted the _Falcon_ sharply on the left of her belly. He gave the braking thrusters on the portside a gentle squeeze and cut thrust, turning the ship sharp to the right and making it a dive as he kicked the power back. There was a shout from the comm and Han called through.  
  
"Hey! Take it easy!" He called.  
  
Leia laughed as Luke answered, "Just getting used to the controls."  
  
  
---  
  
  
"Engage." The _elite_ spoke from beside Sh'rtokh waking him out of the self-induced haze that settled upon him as his mind spun their own tactical webs. Sh'rtokh took a moment to register the _elite_'s words before he realised the order to attack had been given. Snapping quickly back into his position as fleet commander he called out to the ships waiting the order to be relayed.  
  
"All groups, you have go." He said, glancing briefly at the deep shrouded figure beside him. "Groups 5 through 11 take the point and snap through to the capital ships. Focus on the largest as best you can, but not exclusively. Watch for ion cannon fire and keep it close to the hulls. Groups 12 through 14, keep those fighters off 5 to 11. All others, keep close to the fleet with the battle droids and fend of any attacks on the _Calisaire_ and the rest. He got responses and cut the comm turning to the forward view screen and watching the fighters break free and dive for the enemies' ships.   
  
From beside him the _elite_ spoke, charcoal tones soft in the tense air "You choose offensive." He stated, sounding like a question he had wondered at had been answered.   
  
"We are the larger force." Sh'rtokh said through a dry throat.  
  
"Then why not let them throw themselves at us and be squashed?" The _elite_ never moved but dark cloak he held around him seemed to grow.  
  
"Because that is what their commanding officer would have expected." He managed though the words sounded choked in his own ears.  
  
"Hmmm" the ssi-ruuk beside him turned to look at him. "You have much to learn of the humans."  
  
  
---  
  
  
Luke shunted power to the right drive and flicked the _Falcon_ sharply over as one of the sleek fighters came rushing in. It slid beneath their belly and Chewie howled a battle call as turbolaser fire raked it. Chewie hit aft of the engines, punching through the stabilizers and sending the craft careening dead through space.   
  
Luke had the freighter banked starboard and scrapped another craft, Hans cries to take it easy' punctuated with the ricocheting of fire across the smaller ships as it exploded and shook the _Falcon_.   
  
Luke's hands flew across the controls, using instinct and the Force to guide them as he acted as pilot and co-pilot and, on the occasions when Han and Chewie missed, he was gunner too as he took control of the forward guns. He was aware of Leia sat beside him, doing what she could to help as she tried to keep up with his manoeuvres. He had his eyes half closed as he relied on the Force more. They were just flying for all they were worth, trying to avoid the deadly wave of droids that had descended enmass.  
  
In front of them, an x-wing shattered under the fire from the combined power of one of the jet-black droids and the sleeker, faster fighters. Luke flicked the guns onto the fighter as it burst through the burning corpse of the ship and blew out a sharp burst of fire at the fighter as it swung around to target the _Falcon_. The first burst pierced the weapons relay, melting and liquefying it, the return fire dying before it was even loosed. The next shot took out the main engine, striking with pinpoint accuracy the assembly that held the small fusion reactor. The fireball raced across the small ship, engulfing it as the shell fell away from them.  
  
"Nice shot." Han called across the comm as Luke twisted the _Falcon_ again, shifting the rudder back and forth to weave tightly between the dogfights.   
  
"Luke?" Leia said from beside him, her voice laced with concentration and just a little awe.  
  
"I'm listening." He said, sparing her the concentration to turn and look "What is it?"  
  
"Over there." She pointed. He followed her finger to see a group of a-wings struggling under the assault of an army of battle droids.   
  
"You ready?" she asked.  
  
Luke forced a swallow and nodded. "Now for it." He said.  
  
The _Falcon_ leapt forward for the fight, scything and weaving her way through the crossfire. He pitched her suddenly, nose-diving down as one of the small droids shot fire through the space the _Falcon_ had previously occupied. Luke twisted the ship to port, gritting his teeth as he leaned unconsciously into the turn as the droid moved to follow them. Fire lanced out but the _Falcon_ duck below it, twisting again, starboard this time and rocking on her axis to avoid the fire. Han nailed the little ship as it swung fast over her bow, piercing it and ripping it apart to form a brief fireball in the sky. Luke eased the freighter back on her path to the fight between the a-wings and the faster, smaller droids. He reached out for the Force, if this didn't work - but no. If this didn't work then the _Falcon_ and all the other ships Ackbar had pulled together would likely not make it back to Coruscant. As it was, even if it did work, many of them never would. If the alien implant in his head, the small grey metal contacts, could repeat on these droids what they had on the others, then they had at least a fighting chance.   
  
And that was all he asked for.   
  
The a-wings grew through the cockpit forward screen, clouds of debris marking those that had been too slow against the sleek black fighters; laser fire working to increase that number.   
  
"Concentrate." He heard Leia whisper from beside him, but he already was. He stretched out to the Force, feeling the flood of energy surging around him. He pushed his awareness out beyond himself, the ebb and flow brushing against his mind as the Force swelled up around him.   
  
Around him, and around the implant.  
  
It was almost like it was a palpable, living thing. It seemed to react to the contact, energy surging along the tiny pathways that marked it's existence. He knew, in retrospect, that the implant was nothing more than man-made neural circuits shifting to integrate with his own, but the thing almost possessed malevolence in his minds eye. He pushed back misgivings to the recesses of his mind and stretched deeper to the Force. The objects around him appeared in hazy perception, barely discernable from each other. He felt the _Falcon_, it's body and passengers working under equal stress. The controls flowed underneath him: he didn't need to look; he knew what to press, where to spin, dive and duck. Beyond was space in all it's churning confusion as ships and droids ripped through it.   
  
Kill or be killed.   
  
He focussed finely on the a-wings and their shape became almost distinct in his vision. The pilots mind clambered at his senses. The concentration, fear and determination stung at him through the space that separated them from the _Falcon_. Droids swarmed over them, like insects gradually and meticulously picking them off. He concentrated on them and they became clear in his mind.   
It was almost as if the implant found a kindred spirit, circuits he hadn't noticed and could never have found sprung to life, spontaneously creating and deleting their own neural nets to align with the fighter droids own circuits. He forced himself to concentrate back on the droids; felt the contact grow stronger and firm.   
  
The _Falcon_ was skirting the battle; droids intent on the a-wings seemed to notice her and dive for her. He knew Han was calling out to pull back, could feel in the Force as Leia clung to the arms of the co-pilots chairs, not daring to move her eyes from the viewport, not daring to move the controls as the _Falcon_ skirted the droids.   
  
Luke reached deeper for the droids circuits, not to seek to twist and deform them. He knew, with the contact the implant gave him and the Force, he could reach out to each and break the circuits. But he had a simpler, faster option in his mind. He formed a picture in his mind, not the simple view gained purely from the one sense, but a woven tapestry of perception from all 5, an intricate vision, delicate in it's complexity, strong by it's standing. He felt the parts slip easily together. The view of life, of freedom, of the final honours he could give the frail life energies that still resided in the droids metal casing.   
  
When he was happy with it's completeness- when the _Falcon_ was close enough to stare through the black sensor eyes of the droids, he sent it, a whisper of hope along the Force gateway the implant had opened for him.  
  
He breathed deep, feeling small beads of sweat trickle on his forehead and fighting through a queer dizziness to switch back to the normal perception. He gripped harder on the controls, waiting. If this didn't work-   
  
The droids stopped, quivering in space as Luke forced the last of his dizziness away. As one, the droids swooped free from their formation, moving independently of each other and with an elegance that didn't befit the triangle shape, fell into each other. The explosion bloomed outwards scorching the sky with fire. Luke threw power to the engines and pulled hard on throttle. The _Falcon_ twisted hard right, shooting away from the fire as it blossomed outwards. Luke looked over at Leia, saw the barely hidden tension there. Like him, for a minute, she hadn't thought it would work.  
  
"The a-wings?" He asked her, sparing the attention as the _Falcon_ shot away from the destruction.  
  
"They got out when the droids stopped." She said, her voice calmer than he would have expected. She turned to him and offered a smile "It worked." She said simply.  
  
He nodded "That it did."  
  
  
---  
  
  
Han instinctively threw his hands up as the explosion reached out to him with fiery claws. The shockwave reached him first and hammered his gun-well. He grabbed the seat and swallowed hard, waiting for the fire to break through the transparisteel that protected him from the vacuum of space. It never came; the _Falcon_ was already flipping over, putting him in marginal shadow of the explosion as it rocketed away, the fire grabbing angrily at it's tail.  
  
"Han? You okay."   
  
Leia's voiced pierced through the receding terror and he brought a only-slightly shaky hand up to press the pickup closer to his mouth.  
  
"Fine. Just tell that brother of yours that he'll be the one scraping the carbon scouring off the hull if he tries that trick anymore." He said, breathing deeply to kill the adrenaline rush that shook his muscles. He heard laughter over the comm and Leia replied.  
  
"I hate to break this to you, but if that pack of droids biting the _Starlight_ we're heading for is anything to go by, you better strap in."   
  
Han raised his eyes to the ceiling "Getting real cocky." He whispered.  
  
"I heard that." Luke's voice called across the comm, then the tone changed "Heads up. You've got a big group of fighters incoming."  
  
"Your diving straight for them, you mean." Han grumbled, but he grabbed the control stick and brought the guns back around.

  
Chapter two: into the fray

Ackbar leaned closer over the sensor station and frowned at the readings. So far, the battle was going much as all other battles went at first: neither side was gaining the advantage over the other. The ssi-ruuk had swung suddenly into the offensive, about what Ackbar had expected, except they had left their right and left flanks fairly poorly defended; they obviously didn't expect the New Republic forces to make it far enough to eat in at their sides. Well, he mused, they would just have to learn that lesson the hard way.  
  
"Selphie?" He called, turning to his second in command "Cut down their flanks. Get 3 squadrons on either side to cut their way in. When they make it, go for their lead ship." The young female officer bowed her head and hustled to the comm station to relay the orders. Ackbar moved back to his command chair and dialled in the secure line he had to the _Falcon_. As he waited for the freighter to pick up the call he watched the mêlée outside in space; swarms of the droids boiled over the _Starlight_'s hull, seeking out likely week spots in the cruiser. They wouldn't find any, he knew, but enough attrition and even the _Starlight_ was susceptible to the droid's fire. He turned to the tactical screen and found the _Falcon_'s transponder signal, watching the ship twist and roll with impossible manoeuvres.  
  
"_Falcon_." Ackbar heard the comm crackle, "We hear you Admiral." The Princesses voice said.  
  
"Princess. "He greeted her "I see your plan is working."  
  
"So far." She agreed with him, then paused for a moment. The admiral imagined the freighter diving suddenly as on the tactical screen the ship suddenly changed direction. "We're targeting the larger groups of the droids, but there's just too many of them." Her voice shook as the ship was buffeted by fire. It was quickly returned and on the screen two blips chasing them dissolved.  
  
"I know. They're too fast to take down easily." He said. "Can I speak to Jedi Skywalker?" he asked  
  
"I'm here." The Jedi's voice came back after a pause, it was decidedly clearer and confident than the Admiral would have expected it to be, given the amount of effort and concentration he had to be devoting to the implant. "I think we need to do this more tactically." He said.  
  
The admiral nodded to himself "Agreed."  
  
"We just need a big enough mistake to exploit."  
  
Ackbar looked over at the display. In response to their attack down the ssi-ruuvi flanks a lot of their ships had been diverted to fend of the x-wings. Leaving a small gap in their defences just to the polar south of their flag ship. A small gap, but it was all they needed.  
  
"I think I've found you your opportunity." He said flicking through to get the larger picture of the whole battle. At the same time he keyed in a secure link to the freighter.  
  
"I'm sending you some co-ordinates now. If you put them in, you'll see a small gap in their lines"  
He waited for them to punch them in and finally Leia's voice came back "Small is right, Admiral. I'm not sure we can get through."  
  
"Not on your own, no." he conceded. "I'm going to divert Rogue Squadron to assist you. That should give you a better chance." He said  
Suddenly, as if a thought had just struck him, Luke spoke up "Admiral, where's the _Jade's Fire_? " he asked.  
  
Ackbar frowned. He'd only been keeping a periphery notice of the ship,  
  
"Currently." He said, reading of the tactical screen "She's just a little way north of you, why?"  
  
"We could use her, too." Skywalker said, pausing as the ship rolled suddenly off to the left and caused the two droids chasing it to collide in an explosion of debris and fuel.   
  
"I don't like the tone in your voice. " Ackbar said.  
  
"Admiral, when I was aboard their ship, it wasn't just the droids I could control." He said, a strange tone touching the edges of his voice.  
  
"Luke" Leia said from beside her and the Admiral could imagine them locking eyes as a silent battle waged between them. When they spoke again, he knew who had won.  
  
"I could access some of their other circuits." Skywalker continued, and Leia said nothing,   
  
"What are you thinking?" Ackbar said, though he thought he could guess at least a part of it.  
  
"Just this; If I can get close enough to the ship that I can alter some of the more vital circuits it might give us the advantage we need."  
  
"You might be able to cause enough damage to make a difference..." Ackbar said thoughtfully.  
  
"Luke, you don't know anything about this ship like you did the other one." Leia put in, fear for her brother's safety lacing her words "You don't know what it might do." The last was a harsh whisper  
  
"They can't be that different and we still have the schematics on the _Falcon_ of their other ship." Skywalker said, that deep earnestness of his brushing his words.   
  
"The gain outweighs the risk." Ackbar pointed out  
  
"The possible gain you mean." Leia said back, frustration creeping into her voice.   
  
"We have to try it, Leia." Skywalker's voice came again "The fleet is getting massacred."  
  
There was pause from the comm and Ackbar knew as well as Leia that they had to try it.  
  
"Okay." She relented, "But we really are going need some cover."  
  
"I've already got Rogue Squadron flying your way."  
  
"Good, we'll call Mara along too." Skywalker said as Ackbar turned to Selphie.   
  
"Do you think you'll be able to inflict much damage?" he said into the comm instead.   
  
There was a pause from the comm "To be honest, I'm not sure if we'll be able to do a lot." He admitted  
  
"Try for the weapons or shields if you can." Ackbar answered, painfully aware that he had no idea how this was going to work, never mind if.   
  
"Anything to give us an edge."  
  
"We will." Leia said, and he could hear the tension in her voice.   
  
"Good luck." He signed off and motioned to his second in command. The young woman stepped briskly over form the tactical station, a slight from creasing her brow "Admiral, we've lost most of grey squadron. One of the gunboats must have had a thermonuclear device on it, it blew up at least 5 klicks squared." As she spoke, her words took emphasis as she gestured with slender hands. "We can't keep taking losses like this sir." She leaned in closer, almost conspiratorially "The _Chevron_ is almost down, she can't take much more. I've directed red squadron out to them but" she shook her head. Ackbar shook his head and sighed mentally.   
  
"The _Falcon_ is going to try to get closer to their lead ship." Selphie opened her mouth to complain but shut it as Ackbar continued, "The _Jade's Fire_ and Rogue Squadron will be going with her." He finished and waited.  
  
She sucked in a deep breath and shifted her feet slightly "Sir, with all due respect, I'm not sure that's wise." She seemed to brace herself for a rebute but Ackbar just looked at her questionably.  
  
"The _Falcon_ and the _Jade's Fire_ has been causing the most damage. To send them away now would leave some major holes in our defences." She explained  
  
The Admiral stood slowly and gestured towards a far concern of the room. Silently, Selphie followed him until they were out of earshot of the rest of the bridge crew but not so far as to be noticed. "I know that." He said "But they have a plan."  
  
"A plan? SirI don't think I understand." She said, the frown growing deeper.  
  
"Jedi Skywalker has anidea," he said.  
  
"Sir?"  
  
"I'm sorry." He shook his head "I can't tell you. Most of the inner council doesn't even know." She shuffled her feet again - the only sign of her annoyance as a neutral face remained plastered on her delicate features. For a moment Ackbar thought she would demand an explanation - as the second in command in she probably had a right to know. But; no. She trusted her superior's judgement. With a curt nod she said, "I understand. I'll move ships in to cover the gaps."   
  
"Thank you, lieutenant." Ackbar said, but she was already hustling for the comm station. As he watched her weave her way across the chaotic bridge, his glance caught the corner of his tactical screen. The _Falcon_ was moving through the lines.  
  
  
---  
  
  
"Watch it Rogue Lead, you've got a tail dropping in hard to port."  
  
"I see him, Luke." Wedge's voice crackled across the _Falcon_'s comm system. In front of them, the nearest x-wing dived up to the left and twisted halfway through, looping and falling into place behind the would-be pursuer. A quick burst of fire and the droid was random debris and static. Even as Luke checked Wedge was in the clear, he threw power to the braking thrusters and pulled the ships nose up hard, forcing her into a steep climb as he kicked the power back in and the _Falcon_ shot upwards. A swarm of droids swept through underneath, firing on where the _Falcon_ had been just a second before. As their fire cut through space Mara's voice filled the small cockpit.  
  
"They're mine, Luke." She said, and with obvious relish and overstated flair, the _Jade's Fire_ descended on the confused droids, blowing up two before they even knew what had hit them. The other two used the cover of their destroyed companions to sweep in opposite directions. Mara took the left ship as it raced to escape. The_ Fire _was faster and two shots to the fusion drive later, the droid blossomed in a short-lived explosion that lit up the _Jade's Fire's_ red markings as she cut through the wreckage. Luke had the _Falcon_ twisted back behind the second escapee and turned her on her side, giving Han the perfect shot. Han whooped as the thing blew up in a cloud of debris that arched across space.  
  
"I said they were mine, Skywalker." Mara growled, half joking.  
  
"Fine. Don't come moaning to me when you get the ship shot out from under you." He snapped back, a little more stern than he had meant. Leia chuckled at his side.   
  
"Ditto." Mara said and the ship twisted in half turn in front of them, blasting a droid that was climbing for the _Falcon_ 's only blind spot- behind the sublight drive.  
  
"Message delivered and understood." Luke acknowledged and drew the _Falcon_ back on course for the lead ssi-ruui ship.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Mara gunned the engines and had the satisfaction of seeing the small black droid following them drop behind her as the _Falcon_ raced alongside her. Mara frowned and considered making it an official race. But with Luke at the controls, she wasn't entirely sure she would win. The _Falcon_ danced in and incredible set of manoeuvres as more of the droids moved into a pursuit vector and scattered the space in front of them with pockets of deadly fire. Even as she marvelled at the freighter's agility she frowned darkly as the _Falcon_ swept in front of her to take fire from an incoming fighter, wondering if Luke was being deliberately overprotective just to annoy her. After all, she was the one called in to run cover. Not satisfied to take the back seat any longer, she threw more power to the engines and angle to the _Falcon_'s right, moving past her and drawing the droid's fire.   
  
Rogue Squadron were still scattered around them in a roughly elliptical shape, stopping as many fighters as possible from entering their ring of defence. It was a good job they were there too. From what little Mara could see of that line of defence, if they thought there were getting a lot of droids descending on them now, she wouldn't want to try this alone. The lead ship was just few kilometres in front of them, but they were having to take a rather cumbersome route through to it in order to permeate the alien defences. So far, it was working.  
  
"_Falcon_, _Jade's Fire_, we've hit a row of fighters up front." Corran's voice filtered through "You'll have to go around."  
  
"Acknowledged." Mara said into the comm, searching the tactical readout for the x-wings. He was right; a massive row of fighters had appeared, presumably designed to send them back the way they had come. Only this was strictly one-way mission.  
  
"Luke?" she called into the pickup, at the same time angling to port.  
  
"I heard." He came back tensely.   
  
"I'm going port. " she said. "Follow me and I'll cover-"  
  
"No." His sharp statement interrupted her, quieting her more out of shock than any command in his voice.  
  
  


"What?" She snapped back."Luke, we can't play games here-"  
  
"I'm not trying to, Mara." He came back with his own mix of barely controlled annoyance and concentration "I'm going to try to take them out."  
  
"You what? You-" and she cut off as she realised what he was saying. It made sense really, but "Luke, we can't risk that. We have to get too the ship." She insisted, but even as the words were spoken, she saw the _Falcon_ angle away from her. She bit back any words she might have said in anger and changed the_ Fire's_ direction to match that of the freighters.   
  
She thought about warning Luke again, but instead decided he needed his concentration and ran cover instead, chasing off any passing fighters that looked like they wanted a fight. She wasn't really sure what was about to happen - she never had a chance to keep track of the _Falcon_ when they first arrived, she'd got tangled in a nasty fight with one of the gunboats. With some annoyance, she realised she was unconsciously holding her breath. She let it out in a sigh and concentrated the Force on piloting. As she did so, she felt a wave of awareness reach out to her.   
  
It wasn't like the sick feeling of the tortured persona's that the droids carried with them, but it held a note of similarity as it reached across to the droids firing madly at the Rogue's. She realised with a shock that that was Luke's doing. His reaching out, in conjunction with the implant, to create a surge of recognition in the droids. As she watched they shook, shivering in space. And then as one, and with Leia's warning call the Rogue's nearest them, they angled inwards, searching for a single, common point in space. And in a fiery explosion that reached sharp fingers of fire into space, they collided and the wave dissolved with their destruction. The _Falcon_ was already retreating from the explosion's wave front as the x-wings appeared as shadows against the fire.  
  
"Luke?" Mara asked when she finally clawed her voice back out of her stomach.  
  
"Right here," he answered after a pause, his voice sounding a little shaky. She wasn't sure what to say next. She'd never sent that done before, and she didn't know how it worked, but what should she say?  
  
"Lets get back in course shall we?" Luke answered, ending the creeping silence that had begun to hang between the two ships. As she watched, the _Falcon_ twisted  
in an exaggerated, lazy loop and shot back through the rapidly expanding debris cloud of the destroyed fighters.  
  
"Right." She managed to say and got the _'Fire_ back on course too.   
  
"Luke? What the hell was that?" Wedge spoke up through the local frequency. "What just happened?"  
  
Luke answered after a pause in which two more droids became space dust, their destruction accented by a wookiee cheer.  
  
"It's a long story, Wedge." He said "One I don't have time to tell."   
  
  
---  
  
  
The intense gaze on the _elite_'s face meant either the messenger had spotted something in the apparently random figures that scrolled across the bottom of the tactical screen, or else a sudden thought was working it's way rapidly into his conscious. As the larger ssi-ruuk turned to face the admiral, Sh'rtokh knew that the latter was true.   
  
"Admiral I believe we have a problem." He said, the deep tones of his voice taking on a hard edge.  
  
Sh'rtokh struggled to keep his own voice suitably subordinate as he faced the other. "So I see from the look on your face." He said, knowing that the remark would hit hard to the _elite_'s ideal of showing no emotions. Or rather, showing only those that could be taken as a threat.  
  
"Then perhaps your observational skills have improved." The _elite_ bit back. Sh'rtokh quieted, mindful of the power the _elite_ could yield if he so chose.   
  
"What is it you have seen?" he asked, moving past the minor war of words.  
  
The _elite_ shifted his stance before he spoke "There." He pointed to tactical screen, finger lying next to a small group of ships "That squadron of x-wings along with the two larger ships."   
  
Sh'rtokh stepped closer to the screen and studied the ships statistics. "The freighter is faring pretty well, but I don't see a problem. We've already sent out two fleets of droids and one of fighters to block their movement forward."  
  
"And would you care to tell me where those fighters are now?" The _elite_'s asked.  
  
"They should be-" Sh'rtokh stopped in his tracks. The droids weren't where they should be. In fact, they weren't anywhere. "I don't understand." He shook his head.  
  
The _elite_'s shadow seemed to grow and begin to swallow Sh'rtokh's perspective. "I presume, Admiral, that you have studied the records left by the droids of the Slastare attack?"  
  
"I have." Sh'rtokh said, "Though I'm not sure I see the connection."  
  
"The connection is that that is the same freighter as was in that attack, as was the other ship there." The _elite_'s voice was cool but did not hide his contempt.  
  
"You meanSkywalker?" but it was not really a question. In retrospect, he supposed it made sense. That freighter had made a spectacular showing of itself, which fitted with the Jedi's reputation.   
  
"Sir," he almost choked on the word, but kept going "If your suggesting we try to recapture Skywalker, I don't think that's a good idea."   
He swallowed hard and waited for an answer  
  
"I was not about to suggest that." The _elite_ said, "In fact, I think the whole plan was folly to begin with. It made the fleet liable to danger."  
  
"Then what?" Sh'rtokh forced himself to ask, as he didn't see the answer.  
  
"The problem is the very reason I just stated." He answered, "Skywalker still has the implant."   
  
And suddenly he got it.   
  
"Then we have to destroy the freighter." He said,  
  
"Indeed."  
  
  
---  
  
  
Luke had the _Falcon_ gunning straight for the huge cruiser, Mara's _Jade's Fire_ hot on their tail. Every time a group of the black droids cut their outer ring defence Leia couldn't help but hold her breath just a little. The x-wings were doing a good job of sweeping up any of the fighters that tried to break through, but the numbers were too great to stop them all. The ships were perfectly intergrated in their attacks, working with a single purpose. Every attack was in the form on a fan; flaring out across them and sweeping high and low. Luke would find away to avoid them, but the droids learnt fast, and it was getting more and more difficult to avoid their turbolaser before it scathed across the _Falcon_'s hull. Each manoeuvre got more and more intricate as Luke ran through a totally illogical series of banks, curves and twists; cutting power to the drives and throwing the small freighter around her axes. Leia consciously stopped herself from clinging to the seats edge, reminding herself that the internal compensators should take care of the g-forces that played around with her insides. But then, Han had probably cross wired it to so many other circuits that they didn't work so well anymore. At least, that was what it felt like.   
  
In the distance she saw another wave break through and turned to tell Luke,  
  
"Luke you've got more coming in-"  
  
"I see them." He answered even as the _Falcon_ bucked down beneath their fire. Fire from both Han and Chewie swept across the oncoming fighters, joined by Luke's from the forward guns.   
  
"How far to the cruiser?" Luke asked as another droid blossomed outward into the vacuum. Leia glanced down at the sensors and swallowed hard "We're nearly there. A few klicks." Even as she spoke, the comm light flashed and Wedge's voice came over the internal speakers.   
  
"_Falcon_? We've met the hull." His voice was tense and as Leia stared out through the cockpit she could see why - the gunmetal grey hull was barely visible past the buzzing field of angry droids and fighters. It was disconcerting to see so many enemy ships and so few allies, but that really wasn't anything new to her. As Luke was concentrating on avoiding their newest bunch of followers she flicked the send button   
  
"We hear you, Rogue Lead. We're going to have to cut in close to the hull. Double back and run cover from the top." Wedge acknowledged and the small specks that were the x-wings cut loose and came back, bring the line of defence closer to the _Falcon_.  
  
She turned to her brother as the last of the droids was scattered across space "You ready?" she asked. His hands paused slightly over the controls before he turned her and smiled,   
  
"Sure." He said and as he said it she felt him draw strength from the Force. He sighed deeply and she thought she saw him shiver slightly. She nodded and turned back to the controls, aware that she would probably have a larger part in the piloting now. The hull loomed closer.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Luke watched the last of Rogue squadron disappear behind the _Falcon_'s cockpit's line of sight. Pushing the last of his fears behind, him he concentrated deeper into the force. The space seemed like it was lain bare for him, where before he had been restricted by his own vision, suddenly it was all there; every moving element in it's own place, everything clear even in it's complexity. The cruiser loomed over them throwing shifting shadows across the _Falcon_s cockpit. Beside him he felt the pressure emanating from Leia as she clung to the controls and resisted the urge to take the con from him. He threw power over to portside engine and the _Falcon_ slew over and kicked forward across the cruisers hull. He felt his body pushed back into the deep folds of the pilots seat even as his mind stretched forward into the cruisers circuits.   
  
It's immense complexity threatened to swallow him as the maze of the energies worked to wrap themselves around his consciousness. His panic pulled him further in and he felt the link back begin to darken and fade. Realising that thrashing in the maelstrom of energies would only tangle him more, he calmed and tried to see his way through.   
  
There wasn't any path; he realised that almost immediately. The circuits were put in when and where they were needed, the ship was almost as patched as the _Falcon_. He didn't let despair crawl in even as doubt began to claw at the edges of his mind.   
  
Leia's warning call brought him back to the battle outside. He climbed back through the contact and knew it was taking too long. He felt the ship buck as Leia took the controls and twisted the _Falcon_ away from the hull and deeper into space. As she did, the contact dissolved around and him as the real world came back. He could hear Leia calling, her voice echoing painfully around his head.   
His throat was dry and he realised he was gasping for air. He forced himself to breath normally and tried to bring his vision back to normal. The _Falcon_ shook and tilted suddenly under them, the jolt shaking him back to reality.   
  
"I'm here." he managed as Leia began to call Han.  
  
The _Falcon_ was rising rapidly from the cruiser and Luke came fully awake with a jolt.  
  
"Turn her back." He said, grabbing for the controls as another bolt whistled overhead and _Falcon_ was thrown on her side again.   
  
"What?" Leia asked almost incredulously.  
  
"Turn her around." He repeated, taking back the controls and throwing on the braking thrusters, turning the ship in a classic smugglers brake as he did.   
  
"Luke!" Leia shouted as the chasing fighters suddenly found themselves the being the target. "Luke, you cant -"  
  
"I have to."  
  
"Luke, it didn't work." Her words stung of failure.  
  
Luke shook his head and tried to think of how he could explain. It wasn't logical, his first attempt had failed and nearly cost the _Falcon_, but he knew he had to try again.  
  
"Luke, I nearly lost you"   
  
He turned to look at her and frowned "What do you mean?" He asked.  
  
She shook her head, a chestnut strand of hair falling across her face. She threw her hands up in the air and shrugged "I don't know. Your presence just seemed todissipate."  
  
Luke frowned again, feeling the start of an idea begin to form. Before it could grow, a sudden crackling cut across them comm.  
"_Falcon_ this is _Starlight_. Do you read?"  
  
Luke saw Leia start and she turned an anxious glance at him before reaching over and flicking the comm to send again.  
  
"_Starlight,_ this is the _Falcon_. We read you." Her voice was clear and steady, though he knew she too was beginning to feel a nasty sensation crawling up her spine.  
  
"_Falcon_, this is Lieutenant Selphie, we've had new instructions from Coruscant." A young woman's voice answered Leia and her anxious gaze turned to concern as she spoke again,   
  
"Lieutenant Selphie, where is the Admiral?"  
  
"In sick bay, Madame Chief of State. The _Starlight_ has taken some bad hits, the Admiral has suffered a mild concussion."   
  
Leia nodded, her relief evident. "Good."   
  
"However, that may change." Selphie's voice held a tone of apprehension.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"New orders." She repeated, "President, the _Starlight_ is in bad shape. We can't hold out much longer." There was a pause "We've been ordered to ram the cruiser."  
  
Luke felt a ripple of shock run through him, feeling a tinge of déjà vu. "Lieutenant, you can't do that." He said, "If that cruiser blows along with the _Starlight_ they'll take out half the ships here. Theirs and ours."  
  
"I realise that. But we've already lost at least a quarter of the fleet and that's got us nowhere. The _Starlight_ isn't going to make it," despite the ships dangerous position, there was no remorse or bitterness in her voice "and if she blows out here, with our fleet, it'll only be our ships that are lost. This is our last hope."   
  
"There's always one more hope, Lieutenant." Leia put in suddenly as she grabbed the controls one more time and nodded towards Luke as the _Falcon_ swung back towards the cruiser."  
  
"Madame-"  
  
"Give us ten minutes, if we haven't made it by then, then carry out your orders. But give us our ten minutes."   
  
The woman paused and Leia used the moment to gun the accelerator up full. Luke was pressed back in his seat as Selphie replied.  
  
"Ten minutes." Selphie's voice was slightly mournful "After that, get out of there. The New Republic needs it's leader."   
  
Leia cut the comm and smiled grimly "Like hell we will." She said, and then turned to Luke "You better be right." She said.   
  
  
---  
  
  
Mara frowned as the _Falcon_ swung back from it's retreat. The freighter killed it's speed suddenly and headed back for the fighters scattering in confusion at the move. Mara knew the trick hadn't worked. The minute she felt Luke stretch out she had known something wasn't right. Reaching across, watching the ship as it suddenly kicked forward again, she keyed the comm  
  
"Skywalker?" she called, throwing power to the back drives.  
  
"We're here, Mara." Luke's voice came back.  
  
"What's going on?"  
  
"We're going back for another try." His answer came back and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes.  
  
"That much I figured out for myself." The _'Fire_ bucked suddenly, throwing sparks across the forward display, "Even if it is suspiciously like trying to get us killed."   
  
The _Falcon_ danced through space in front her, missing most of the droids shots and gaining only a few grazes from the few that made it through.  
  
"The _Starlight_ isn't going to last much longer," Luke's voice came through clear despite the intricate moves he was putting the freighter through. "If we don't do something soon, the Lieutenant will have to ram that cruiser" He let the implications of that hang in the air.  
  
"What, that very large, fusion generated cruiser?" Mara tried to keep the fear from her voice  
  
"That's the one,"   
  
She whistled quietly through pursed lips, "Luke, that will be one big explosion."  
  
"I know. We have to get back there and finish what we started."  
  
Mara let her thoughts drift for just a moment before replying, watching the firefight outside, feeling somehow suddenly external to it.  
  
"Only it didn't work last time. And there's no reason for it to work this time." She pointed out. Her attention was suddenly broken by one of the fighters cutting in on her belly so Luke's reply was lost on her as she chased the small jet-black droid down.  
  
"Say again," the droid blossomed in a brief explosion behind her.  
  
"I said, I think I know why it didn't work."   
  
Mara bit down her impulsive reply and waited.  
  
"The circuits on that ship." He paused, as if gathering his thoughts  
  
"Go on," She urged him on.  
  
"What I felt; it didn't feel like the others."  
  
Mara felt a frown forming on her forehead "How do you mean? They're not powered by trapped energies?" She knew as soon as she said it, it was wrong: the sick feeling that ebbed out of the big cruiser looming in front of them was unmistakable.  
  
"No. They feel patched. Nothing is connected anymore. When I tried to touch it - it felt like I was drowning."   
  
Mara laughed, "And growing up on a desert world you'd know all about that."  
  
"Maybe not, but that's not the point," he hid his annoyance well. "It was all too vague for me to contact properly"   
  
Mara could tell he was searching for the right words. "And it felt like you were being strangled by the very energies you were trying to control?"  
  
"Yes, that's it." He agreed. " But there was something else. I was like a pressure on the back of your mind, a deep brooding shadow."  
  
"What does that mean?"  
  
"I don't know, but I don't like it."  
  
"Your thinking, Luke, let's hear it."  
  
His sigh was audible over the speakers "It seemed to centre on the bridge."  
  
Leia's sharp intake of breath interrupted Mara's own fears "You think there's someone there. Someone using the darkside of the Force?" Skywalker's sister's voice was controlled.  
  
"Maybe not the Force, but a personality with a strong leaning that way, yes."  
  
Mara leaned back into the pilot's chair, feeling that fear trickle uncomfortably down her spine.   
  
"And we're heading back there why?"  
  
"It was something Leia said that triggered it." His voice came back.   
  
Beyond them, Rogue squadron was again running cover against the droids Luke's supposed commander threw at them. The cruiser's deep grey hull filled in the background, all the stars cut off by it's massive bulk. Mara suddenly felt very small in the face of the huge ship, feeling like they were the small pebble thrown against the Rancor.   
  
"Luke, this is stupid." Mara felt her voice catching in her throat and chided herself for it.  
  
"You feel it, don't you?"  
  
"What?" confused, she shook her head even though there was no one there to see,  
  
"That malevolence. It's eating away at the corners of your resolve."  
  
Now that she concentrated, she could feel the pressure on the back of her mind. She scowled. "What is it?" she asked  
  
"I don't know," he admitted  
  
"Ten to one it has to do with your brooding presence out there."  
  
"That would be my guess."  
  
"You still haven't answered my question. If it didn't work last time, why will it work this time?"  
  
Mara flicked red-gold hair from her eyes as another barrage of laser fire cut across her path. She threw the '_Fire_ into a steep dive below the droids line of sight and kicked the ship forward away from the fighters.  
  
"I think that ship's been on a long journey here. And it's already seen a lot of battle since it left home."  
  
"So all the confusion in the circuits is, what, rewiring? Like trying to patch into the _Falcon_'s computer?"  
  
"That, and our brooding friend."  
  
"So what you need is a circuit that won't have changed"  
  
"Yes," Another batch of the fighters cut through again. The _Falcon_ skipped around and charged straight for them. She could almost hear the cry of dismay from Han as the two played chicken. The _Falcon_ won through, the droids scattering in a confusion that only got them blown by either the _Falcon_, the Rogue's or their own panicked fire.   
  
"And?" she prompted  
  
"And I figure the only system that can help us - the only one that definitely won't have changed but can be of use, is the self destruct."   
  
The way he said it, the tone in his voice, chilled. It took her a minute to figure out why.  
  
"Only the actual circuit; you wont be able to get it. But you might be able to get at the control."  
  
And then, Leia got it too,  
  
"Which is on the bridge." She gasped. "Luke you can't do that."  
  
"It's the only way." The earnestness of his voice hardened Mara's own resolve. That, and seeing on her sensors that the _Starlight_ was coming around on a ram vector.  
  
"Leia, you have 5 minutes, maybe less. Can you think of another way?" Even she was shocked by the hard edge in her voice. But it worked.  
  
"Okay, then. Luke, same routine." She said, calling up Wedge and patching him into the conversation. "Rogues, give us an arrow point straight past the bridge. We get one shot at this."  
  
There was a sharp intake of breath over the comm.   
  
"Mara, that's the most heavily guarded part, I don't think-"  
  
"If I'm right," she interrupted "from what we've already seen, the closer we get the better chance we have Luke can pull it off. Am I right?"  
  
"Yes. The closer I am, the stronger the contact." Luke agreed.  
  
"And the closer to-"  
  
"Leia." Mara imagined Luke turning to regard the less reckless Skywalker with an earnest stare. "We have to do this."   
The comm remained silent but Mara could sense Leia's grudging agreement.   
  
"Okay. Rogues, take us forward. Cut in close to the belly of this thing, most direct route. Luke, I'll take aft and cover you from behind. Stay _in_ the formation, don't try anything fancy. We need to get as close as possible, but watch your flying and don't run into the hull."  
  
"Yes, ma'am." Luke said and Wedge's quiet laughter echoed over the comm.  
  
"Good," she laughed, "let's go hit the Rancor."  
  
  
---  
  
  
Leia knew her knuckles were white with the grip she had on the controls without having to look down. Luke had relinqused the position of copilot to her, all be it hesitantly. She could tell from the intense look on his face and the set of his jaw that no amount of persuasion would change his mind. And there was a good reason for that. Even with their limited view across the battle, they could see in the far distance the gleaming streak that was the _Starlight_ vectoring around for the ssi-ruuvi cruiser. When Mara had said they would only get one shot at this, she hadn't been exaggerating. One shot, and with that one shot Luke had to somehow find, connect with and then trigger the self-destruct circuit. And that whilst getting past that ominous presence sat on the bridge.   
  
Leia wasn't convinced with Luke's assessment that he/she/it wasn't using the force. Though Leia had not been in the presence of many people using the darkside -not whilst trained in the Force, anyway- she knew the signs. And the fact that the slow, steady pressure building in the back of her head was coming from that presence did not give her much comfort. She glanced sidelong at Luke and saw him staring at her.  
  
"We'll make it, you know." He said, giving her a reassuring smile.   
  
She nodded at him, giving a knowing wink.   
  
"Sure we will."  
  
She watched her brother reach over and flip the comm on. As he did so, she wondered just when it was she'd gotten used to him being there. For the past few weeks she had been mentally forcing herself to move past his death, and that had felt so wrong. This, now, sat in the heat of battle, working together again, felt so right. But here they were once more, risking heir necks. Neither she nor Luke knew what would happen when he reached out to that cruiser, and in a way that didn't matter. Whatever happened, she had now what she had felt so denied of back on Cassrine. The chance to do something instead of sitting back and watching. And Leia had never been a watcher.  
  
"Han?" Luke's voice seemed to echo through the cockpit  
  
"Right here, Kid. You ready to stop testing the inertial compensator yet?"  
  
"I've not even started yet."  
  
There was a deliberately audible groan from the comm.   
  
"You heard the plan?" Luke asked, spinning the _Falcon_ suddenly on her axes as a wave of fire from one of the droids skirted the .  
  
"Yeah." Hans' reply was punctuated with blasts from the quad guns "Not that you're fancy moves left me much concentration to spare."  
  
"Han," Leia put in "Hopefully we'll get some good cover from the Rogues, but you're going to have to watch for emplacements on the hull."   
  
"Luke, if you're going to be concentrating on the " Leia could imagine the frown forming on his face as he sort for the right word. In   
the end, he gave up.  
  
"whatever. You're going to need me down there."   
  
"We could, Han, but I need control of the ship if I'm going to get in accurately enough. You're doing the most you can fending of those fighters."  
  
Leia knew he was aching for control of his ship back, but he knew that they had the best chance doing it Luke's way.  
  
"All right. But just shout if you need me."  
  
"We will" Luke assured him, "But Leia's doing a pretty good job already."  
  
Leia smirked "Can we have that one in writing for the next time he grumbles about letting up control to me."  
  
"I will, just as soon as we get out of here." He flashed her a winning smile and gunned the _Falcon_ forward. "Right now, though, seems we've arrived."  
  
  
---  
  
  
The cruiser's hull swept past in a blinding array of blurred lights and deep shadows; amazing in it's complexity, the image was transfixing, a work of art in it's own right.  
  
But Luke didn't let his mind linger on that, didn't let it wander at all. The hull, the lights, the x-wings that cut across his vision and the shrapnel that splashed against the forward shields; all were periphery. His concentration was focused not on the metal skin that encased the ship, but on the twisting energies that powered the huge vessel.   
  
All of them were similar and yet utterly dissimilar; all emanated a sick, perverse feeling and yet were distinct even as each member of the same species had it's own rhythm in the Force. The whole thing was meshed into a matrix that was incalculable and unfathomable to his mind, and even as he brushed the edge of the energy, he felt it's immensity tearing at the corners of his mind.   
But now he knew where that tugging came from. Like a mental magnet dragging him down, he felt himself slipping. The presence on the bridge definitely wasn't using the Force, that much he could tell. But it's impact on the ship was obvious, creating a nexus towards which all energies fell, pulling Luke along with them.   
  
That moment of perception lasted for just a flicker of his eyelids before he moved past it. He knew what needed to be done; had already set himself to it. But now that it came down to it, the pressure was immense.   
  
All sense he had of the _Falcon_ and her systems was swamped as his mind concentrated on the rapid reformation of neural nets by the implant inside his head. The complexity of it was staggering. He could feel waves of dizziness spreading out and smothering his sense and he had to fight to keep his concentration. And when he had it back, he dived deeper.   
The torrent of energy carried him deeper towards that presence, his instincts screaming at him to turn back. His will set, he pushed further.   
  
And suddenly, like a blinding light being shone in his eyes, he was there. The sudden realisation impacted against his mind, but Luke was stronger than that. He pushed past it, searching, brushing his mind against the ssi-ruuk that was creating all their problems. Somewhere, seemingly way, way above him, Leia's voice was calling. He could hear the urgency even if he couldn't make out the words. Whether it was because, again, she could feel his own presence slipping away, or because of the more urgent needs of the _Falcon_ flying above the cruisers hull, he didn't know, but he took it as a signal to act. And to act now.   
Concentrating on the implant, he felt the small machine work at altering his nervous system to fit it's own neural net much further beyond the extent it had before, and had the momentary wonder of what it would do to his brain if they got out of this. Not that that mattered right now, of course.   
  
The presence of the ssi-rruk was staggering. It seemed perverse to have such a hub malevolence in the deep calm of the Force and left a sickly taste as Luke concentrated his mind past him.   
  
And as he pushed past that cloak, he realised he had been wrong. The ship was patched together; the networking of wiring was dizzying, be it was suddenly like someone had turned the lights on or put it back in focus. He didn't know the ship, had never been on it, but suddenly, with the impairing of the implant gone, he knew where he was. He couldn't explain that, except that the ssi-ruuk on the bridge had been actively working against implant, so that Luke wasn't flailing in the dark anymore. He had a focus, and with it, he had a direction.  
  
  
---  
  
  
On the bridge of the _Calisaire_, the _elite_ dug deep claws into his fingers and snarled.  
  
  
---  
  
  
The aliens ire sent waves of anger through the contact and Luke shivered in sympathy with it. The ssi-ruuk knew what he was doing. But it was too late. That brief glimpse was enough. Like a map emblazoned on his memory, Luke knew where he was going.   
  
He felt contact snap and the implant's activity grow as it found a kindred spirit in the energy of the ship. He knew as he went deeper into the very heart of the ship and it's systems that that the circuit was there, he could see it in his mind, could see the surge of energy he was looking for, the exact set of switches and wires -   
  
And suddenly, he was there.   
  
He gathered the energy around himself then. This would have to be right. This would have to be perfect.   
  
He sent the impulse and waited for it to reach. Waited, and watched it snake down the wires. Watched the switch trigger.   
  
  
---  
  
  
Admiral Sh'rtokh staggered as the noise burst through his senses. The shock of it shook him for a moment before the _elite_ growled from beside him  
  
"Turn that off!" The blaring alarm resided, but the deep red wash of the bridge stayed. Along with a small number on the front viewscreen. The number 30. No, make that 29. 28. With shock, Sh'rtokh realised it was countdown.   
  
"What the?" He turned to the _elite_ but the elder had no time for him. He was rushing to a forward console, punching in his id code.  
  
25.  
  
Instead, Sh'rtokh turned to his crew. "What is it?"   
  
Before the juniors could answer him, the _elite_ replied.  
  
"Self destruct." He shouted in a voice that showed his clear disdain for Sh'rtokh's lack of knowledge. A lack that was understandable - Sh'rtokh had never been on a ship that was about to blow itself up.   
  
20.  
  
"Turn it off!" Sh'rtokh said, showing far more emotion than was considered dignified for a ssi-ruuvi Admiral.  
  
The _elite_ didn't even both to throw him a withering look.   
  
"Overrides are not working."   
  
  
---  
  
  
Even as he felt the switch trigger and the circuit begin to pulse with life, he felt the energy pulse straight back at him. He knew the self-destruct was not a circuit you could not turn off. He knew that was just what they were doing. Or trying to do.   
Even though he could feel the countdown in the panic of the aliens on the ship, he knew he had to stay. He had to block the command codes.   
  
  
---  
  
  
"What?"  
  
The _elite_ ignored the comment of the admiral. "The Jedi." He hissed, a rasping sound that stung the air.  
  
He spared a quick glance for the tactical viewscreen - saw all chance that the freighter that had penetrated their full defences was not likely to be destroyed in the next. 15 seconds.  
  
"Lieutenant." He turned to slightly panicking officer beside him. "Can you shut down that circuit?" He kept his voice icy calm, not betraying even slightly the nervous fear crawling with cat-claws up his spine.   
  
The ssi-rruk shook his head marginally, thinking fast. "No, sir. Not without shutting down the whole of the bridge systems." The _elite_ scowled.  
  
"It was never designed to be cut off." He shrugged.  
  
The _elite_ never even heard that last.  
  
"Do it." He said.   
  
"What?" the officer asked, confused. The sound of sharp claws raking across the console filled the small bridge.  
  
"Shut down the systems." He glanced at the clock.  
  
10 seconds.  
  
"Aye, sir."   
  
9.   
  
The _elite_ knew even as the junior officer started punching in the key codes that he would never make it. Gripping the edge of the console, determined not to look at the inept Admiral in the last 8 seconds of his life, he concentrated on glowering.   
  
  
---  
  
The energy pulsed faster and relentlessly, and Luke struggled to stay with it. He knew he couldn't, and felt the contact dip and cut off suddenly. He scrambled to return to it but knew he never would. And at the same time, knew he was out of time. The energy pulse reached an infinite pulse, a long string that signalled the end of the countdown. And the end of the ssi-ruuvi cruiser.   
  
And suddenly, in the blink of an eye that it took him to see that, he was flailing and alone in the maelstrom of power. It sank down on him then, the same panicked feeling of drowning amongst the tangle of energy that he didn't, couldn't understand. He felt like he was gasping for air and mentally pushed away from the circuit, in the direction he perceived as up'.   
  
As he calmed, as he forced aside the fears of being trapped and lost, he rose faster, surfacing above the maze of energy in a flourish. Not halting, counting down mentally the tenths of seconds in his mind, he didn't stop running.   
  
  
---  
  
"Sir, the shutdown is engaged. We should have complete systems -  
  
The counter hit 0.   
  
The _elite_ shuddered as the air boiled, fire scorching across his face, stripping layer from layer off his skin, his flesh, his bones. The air burned bright as the cloud of white-hot debris from the front bulkhead collapsed towards the occupants of the bridge; as air raged out and the vacuum rushed in. His last vision was the terrified, pleading look on the Admiral's face before the darkness took him and the _Calisaire _died.

  
Chapter three: the price you pay

The last energies of the ship screamed in unison with the aliens onboard, and Luke quelled the urge to scream with them. The heat, though mental, was palpable as the shadows of fire raced across the hull, scorching, disintegrating and atomising the hull plates, the defences and finally the occupants. It was a split second vision of it all going to hell, one he was irrevocably tangled in as the wave of destruction hit. But he was still running, throwing back the links as the flames touched, fighting against time in a split-second race with nobody winning.   
  
His vision came in fits and starts, the gaps between seeming long and painful, like swimming through treacle, though each vision was only a millisecond between.  
  
He shed the last link to the dying ship and came back to reality with a sharp gasp of air and a throbbing stab of sympathetic pain in his head. The light blinded him, just for a moment, his vision swinging precariously before he found the controls of the _Falcon_ and yanked them hard up.  
  
Leia's warning cry pulsed through him like a wave of realisation, and the whole picture was back clear with him.   
  
"Hold on!" He called through a dry throat as Leia kicked the forward drives up full and the acceleration plastered them back in their seats. From down the corridor there was a yelp as Han careened into the corridor wall. His appearance in the cockpit doorway, turning on the jam, was accented with a curse. Leia turned to him but Luke didn't have the time. Flames reached scorching fingers over the   
  
_Falcon_'s hull, long wisps arcing over his view and turning the whole of the cockpit a sickly crimson colour.   
  
Han began to shout something, but then the shockwaves hit, kicking the freighter around in stomach-churning turns.   
  
Through the flames, he could see the small streak of the _Jade's Fire_ in a similar position, rocking like a feather in the wind. A quick check of the rapidly depleting sensors showed the New Republic fleet fleeing from the dying ship like birds from a thunder storm.  
The fleet would make it, but the _Falcon_ and the _Jade's Fire _weren't going to, he knew. They had been too close to the hull when they'd started to run.   
  
"Hold on." He repeated. Mentally crossing his fingers, he boosted the power. The _Falcon_ groaned in response, but jumped forward.   
  
Parts of debris started to appear in front of them, white hot fire-balls flaming tails behind them: small parts of the hull not fully destroyed in the initial blast hurled before the wave front with the ferocity of the blast.   
  
Impacts sent shivering echoes across the hull and the lights on the _Falcon_'s boards blinked green then red then green. Luke tried to ignore the ominous thuds as they reverberated along the ships length.   
  
Han's cry to straighten their erratic path was drowned out with his yelp as the _Falcon_ was shaken down to it's bones as the main blast hit. Luke resisted the urge to squeeze his eyes shut as their view corkscrewed and the _Falcon_ tumbled head over heals, shaken but still whole. He glanced over at a furiously blinking red light, then called out over the deafening rattle,  
  
"Forward and port shields are down."   
  
His voice still croaked in his own ears.   
  
Han had clawed his way forward and gripped the back of the pilots seat Luke was jammed into,  
  
"Swing her starboard." He called into Luke's ear. Luke shook his head, though he doubted Han could have noticed that over the beating the _Calisaire's_ destruction was giving the small ship.   
  
"Can't." He called back, gripping the controls with white knuckles "All thrusters have locked." Leia turned an alarmed gaze to Luke, her eyes mirroring the horror they all felt.   
  
Without thrusters, they would ride the brunt of the wave like any other piece of debris.  
  
"Just hold on" Hans gruff voice said.   
  
And they did, Luke gave up battering the controls and clutched tighter onto the restraint straps. Han tightened the restraints in his passenger seat, as Chewie howled a warning growl from the quad guns.  
  
Fire and space swirled together as one as the freighter hurtled forward.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Mara gasped in awe at the scene in front of her. Trailing just port and astern of the _Falcon_, she'd had a wonderful view of the hull in all it's intricacy, so when it had suddenly started to blow up, it was a bit of a shock.   
  
The bridge went first; the _Falcon_ was a bare 100 metres from the brunt of the first explosion. Small charges blinked in succession across it like winking eyes, lighting it up a split second later. The fires they ignited raged in boiling fires outwards into space; shards of transparisteel from shattered ports gleaming in the firelight.   
  
Even as Mara swerved hard to escape the reach of the flames, she knew this explosion was just periphery. Any second -probably less than that, even - the fusion drive would be triggered and the ship would be engulfed by it's own drive system. She jarred hard on the controls, climbing for space and seeing the small glint of white in the distance which meant Rogue Squadron had figured what was going on and were running like hell. Which was exactly what she should be doing, but looking far down at the very bottom of her vision line as the _Jade's Fire_ clawed for space, she saw the _Falcon_ wavering.   
  
Her first thought was that they must not have realised, her second, following rapidly on the first, she knew was right: Luke couldn't disconnect. But even as she stretched out to see if she was right, the _Falcon_ jumped suddenly forward. As it did so, a blinding light flared across her vision. She wanted to throw her hand up and shield her eyes as the fusion drive blew, but her instincts kicked in and instead she directed full power to the drive, twisting the ship over as she did to put her view in shadow. She blinked the burning yellow spots from her eyes and reached to switch the comm on,   
  
"Luke?" No reply.  
  
"_Falcon,_ do you read me?"  
  
There was only static and her viewpoint - pointed away from the rapidly expanding explosion, didn't allow her to see if the _Falcon_ was following.   
  
And then the shock wave hit.  
  
  
---  
  
  
Luke could feel a sharp pain in his head, but even as he acknowledged it, he knew the blinking red lights across the board were more important to their immediate safety. The _Falcon_ was tumbling head over heals, but the internal gravity was holding. It was about the only thing that was however. Thrusters were down, the hyperdrive was completely fried and the comm -  
  
He tried it again; switched it back off rapidly as static burst across the cockpit.   
  
As he took his hand away the lights died, plunging them into a deep black, lit faintly from the outside by the dying remnants of the explosion and small smouldering hull plates drifting across their view.   
  
There was a grunt from the cockpits floor and Luke swivelled in his chair, the restraints cutting into his shoulders.   
  
Han was sprawled on the cold floor, a hand rubbing the nape of his neck.   
  
"Did someone just turn the lights off or did that flash loose me my eyesight again?"  
  
Leia was by his side and pulling him into a sitting position from the elbow. She shook her head, more tousled, wild hair falling loose from her plaits across her dirt spotted face.   
  
"The lights died." She said as Han shook his head to clear it.   
  
"Ouch." He muttered. He fixed a sharp-eyed glare on Luke. "I told you no one else should pilot the _Falcon_."  
  
Luke laughed and it was infectious, reducing Leia to wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. "We're alive." She shook her head and laughed again, the sound refreshing and lighting up the dark room "We made it."   
  
"We made it, but we're just hanging in space." Han looked up at him and frowned.  
  
"No drive." Luke explained.   
  
"So try the comm."   
  
Luke shook his head "Down too."   
  
He rubbed his hand to his temple as the pain he'd felt earlier began to spread.   
  
"Don't worry about it, the _Starlight_ -"  
  
He cut off. The _Falcon_'s wild trajectory had brought them back around to face what was left of the ssi-ruuvi cruiser. Bare skeletal parts were all that remained; drifting in pieces and slowly moving away from each other, looking for all the world like a charred skeleton. They burned slowly, flames licking at it's edges as it tumbled.   
  
Everything was gone. The plates that had made the corridors had gone; the crew quarters were gone, the machinery and it's sickening life were gone. What was left of the black battle droids swarmed around the carcass as if looking on in disbelief.   
  
Their view was cut off as an x-wing slowly lowered itself to face the cockpit and then adjusted to their course. Luke stared into the cockpit and saw Corran grinning. He threw them a salute, pointed upwards, and then back to them, an indication help was on the way. Luke threw a salute back to him and watched as the ship slowly moved away again.   
  
"Like I said, don't worry about it." Han said.   
  
He pulled himself up from the floor and grinned as Chewie entered, looking a little shaking and drastically reducing the room in the cockpit.   
  
Luke thumbled with the restraint straps and slid out of the pilot's chair. Han shoved past him and pushed angrily at the controls, but got about as much response out of them as Luke had.   
  
Leia moved past Chewie to the side of the cockpit. "Hang on," she said, then gave the top consoles a hit. Nothing happened. "Ah, well, can't use the same trick twice."   
  
Han chuckled and Leia turned to Luke as if to explain the joke, but frowned before she spoke.   
  
"Are you okay?" She asked. He nodded, swallowing hard as his vision split and wavered for a moment before returning to vaguely normal "You look pale." She said.  
  
"I'm fine." He said, the resemblance between the conversation and a similar one on Cassrine not lost on him.  
  
And then, suddenly, everything changed.  
  
He saw her reach a hand out to him, but she wavered in his minds' eye. He stepped back from her, trying to regain his perspective. The   
_Falcon_'s bridge had just misted over, his vision tunnelling. Fleeting memories of Cassrine came back to him as Leia started to speak again, achingly slow, her words stretching beyond recognition.   
  
He thought he could smell the musky dew from the trees; could feel the mud clammy and cold against his skin; could taste the bitter metal tang of blood. He could feel other things too: the salty sting of tears and his hands tingling with the blood-rush of adrenaline.   
Leia's outstretched hand touched his shoulder. Pain exploded up his arm, deathly cold claws digging into his arm. The touch of his clothes against his skin burned him and he moved back from her, sucking in air.   
  
Leia held onto him as he felt shivers course up his spine and his legs began to crumble beneath him, sinking him to the cold deck. He tried to speak, but his voice choked into a strangled cry. Even as she grabbed for him, every nerve in his brain seemed to fire. He convulsed suddenly with pain as a dagger sliced through his mind. He screamed and didn't stop, feeling for real the taste of blood as he screamed his throat red raw, blood vessels bursting with the damage. What portion of his mind was left to register such things brought images back of clawing at the death star throne room floor as the emperor's lightening coursed over his body. But this time there was no lightning, his body only thought there was, his muscles contracting in excruciating waves that travelled from the tips of his hair to his feet. Peripherally, he was aware that he had sunk to the floor, and Leia was there, cradling his head in her arms and crying his name, over and over. He couldn't even begin to reply, he couldn't even begin to form the words. His consciousness spiralled down a slippery slope, Leia's voice drifting further away from him, a chasm opening between the real world and the pain. He recognised his mind retreating, going back to a place where it didn't hurt. He almost wished it on, wished to be rid of the pain. Cool dark called and he let himself fall.   
  
  
---  
  
  
"No!!" Leia cried through her tears "Luke?"   
  
He was quite, still in her arms. She was knelt, clasping both hands across him, cradling him, his head in her lap. He had been shivering, and screaming, screaming so loud she wanted to scream with him. And now he was quite, slumped in her arms, slow beads of sweat trickling down his forehead.   
  
"Luke?"   
  
Her voice was begging, but her brother never moved, never whispered. She bent over him, placing his cheek next to hers "Luke?"   
  
His breath whispered shallow against her skin, but he never spoke, never opened his eyes, never reassured her he was okay.   
  
"Leia"  
  
Her name scared her, but it wasn't Luke. Han's arms clasped around her shoulders, gripping tightly. He was squeezing hard but she didn't tell him to stop; the pain was a focus.   
  
"Leia. Come on." He pulled her away.  
  
"He's breathing," she whispered as she looked into Hans eyes. Han nodded.   
  
"Come on." He managed to move her away and knelt down beside the forlorn figure of her brother. Leia's eyes stung from tears and she wiped angrily at them. Han placed a hand to Luke's forehead, Leia looked expectantly at him, but his face fell into a mask of stone as he sighed quietly,  
  
"He's breathing," he confirmed. "But, he's out cold." He went to lift Luke up from the floor.   
  
Leia was there helping him supporting Luke's weight as Han flicked on the comm with his free hand. Leia had her hand around Luke's waist. He was so painfully cold; she didn't think she could bring herself look into his face, but she had to, searching for any sign he was awake. The Force told her he wasn't, and his cold, placid expression confirmed what Han had told her.  
  
"_Starlight_," Han called into the comm, taking Luke from Leia, she let go reluctantly, fighting with a growing despair. Han didn't wait for a reply before continuing "The is the _Falcon_, we need a pick up right now."  
  
There was a crackle of static from the comm before a voice answered, "_Falcon_, we copy. You're in line, please hold, we have injured fighters to take."  
  
Han growled underneath his breath "Understood, _Starlight_, we have a medical emergency here. We need immediate pickup." Han didn't give room for argument,  
  
"One moment, _Falcon._" The voice came back, and the click of a silencer could be heard.   
Han nodded at Leia, "Come on," he said, heaving Luke into both arms and leading quickly back to the main hold and the bunks, Leia followed anxiously.  
  
As Han laid Luke down gently onto the bed, the comm clicked back in,  
  
"_Falcon_, you are cleared for pickup, please standby."  
  
"Understood. _Falcon_ out." Han said, flicking the comlink off and attaching it back to his belt in one swift move.   
  
Han looked around the bunk anxiously, as if searching for something to do for his friend, but there was nothing they could do for him but wait, and Luke never made a sound. Leia snagged a blanket from the back of a chair and laid it over him, kneeling as she did.   
  
"Stay here," Han said needlessly, "I'm going to chase the pickup up." He squeezed her shoulder reassuringly and left.   
  
Leia brushed a strand of blonde hair from Luke's face. Memories were stirring painfully from within her. The last few months finally crashing down her. She had lost her brother, her twin. She had thought he was gone, but he wasn't. She'd been blissfully unaware whilst he'd been out here, fighting for his life and his sanity. And then she'd found him again. she squeezed her eyes shut and gripped his cold, motionless hand in hers. She could loose him again. She could loose him. She laid her head on the side of the bunk and gripped his hand tighter.  
  
  
Chapter four: prologue

Mara leaned against the doorjamb, grinning. It was kind of a new experience for her, but somehow it just felt good to grin, and laugh, and generally to not take things too seriously. Through the doorway, Mara could see Leia who was not grinning. She was rolling her eyes at the holo in front of her, shaking head furiously. Her long rich brown hair was falling in disarrayed waves around her shoulders as she glowered furiously at the comm. It wasn't the picture of Leia that cause the corners of Mara's mouth to curl, but the person in the holo. Talon Karrde stared back the Chief of State, his hands folded firmly across him chest, chiselled chin sticking out defiantly.   
  
"I'm not sure I find the price quite as absurd as you seem to, Princess." He was saying.   
  
"Karrde, we - the New Republic- thanks you for you help, but that thanks isn't meant to be in credits."  
Mara smirked. Leia obviously wasn't seeing the joke in Karrde's eyes that Mara was, but then Leia hadn't worked with him for over ten years.   
  
"Really?" he raised a bushy eyebrow "I thought you'd be a little more grateful even than _that_. Let's see," he held up a hand and started counted fingers for effect, "We told you the ssi-ruuk were back," he lowered one finger, "we sent Mara out with a fleet of ships to help, and then Mara accompanied you on your final assault"  
  
Mara stepped into the room, shaking her head as Organa Solo began to reply with a shake of her head and another rolling of her eyes,  
  
"Relax, Leia." She said. Leia whirled about in shock at her voice.  
  
"Oh, Mara," she said, seeing the redhead standing there.   
  
"He's joking." She said, indicating the now laughing holo of her captain, "we're just as grateful as you are that the ssi-ruuk are gone  
  
"Not gone, we haven't found the last of their ships." Leia answered.  
  
"Whatever," Mara shrugged her shoulders, throwing red hair over them, "They're not a problem anymore."  
  
Leia glanced back at Karrde, an angry expression spreading across her still-beautiful features,  
  
"And, apparently, Karrde hasn't had enough fun killing Hutts lately"  
  
"Ooh, touché, Princess." Karrde said with a wink.  
  
"So did you call to annoy me or had you got a more productive scheme in mind?"  
  
Karrde nodded, his face suddenly taking on a graver look "Actually, I wanted to now how Luke was. Mara has given me some information, but"  
  
Mara frowned in turn now as Leia replied, a weight suddenly seeming to be placed on her shoulders. "She probably hasn't told you any less than we know," she replied, shrugging her shoulders slightly dejectedly "He's been unconscious and unresponsive for 2 days now."   
  
"Actually," Mara interrupted "That's why I dropped by," she said.  
  
"What?" Leia whirled, and Mara could see her force down equal amounts of fear and hope.   
  
"He hasn't woken, but I was just up there, " she said, smiling "he's picking up. The too-onebee said he could wake any moment," she stepped up and placed a comradely hand on Leia's shoulder, the gesture somehow not at all like her, "That's why I came here, I think you should be there when he wakes."   
  
Leia looked up with glistening brown eyes. She swallowed and nodded, then turned back to the comm,   
  
"Karrde- "  
  
Karrde shook his head and put his hands up "Go, Leia. Tell him I said hi and to stop laying around." He winked at her and cut the connection.  
  
Leia breathed deep and Mara sensed the shorter woman brace herself.   
  
"Coming?" She asked Mara as she turned in the entranceway.   
  
"Right behind you." Mara answered.   
  
  
---  
  
  
The light wasn't really painful. It was bright, white and clear, it didn't really hurt to stare at it, not really.   
  
But somehow, he felt like he'd seen it before.   
  
There weren't any memories there to tell him why, he just knew a queasy feeling was steadily crawling it's ways from the pit of his stomach and up his spine.   
  
The feeling might not even have been there; the line between memories and reality was blurred.   
  
There weren't any images to go with the memory.   
  
There weren't any images at all, just the light.   
  
The feeling was growing, though it didn't hurt, not really.   
  
It at least told him he was alive.   
  
Now why did that feel so strange?   
  
Hadn't he expected to wake up again?   
  
There were no images for that either.   
  
  
---  
  
  
  
Leia gripped the corner of the door as she turned on the jamb. She'd called ahead to Han, and could see him in a corner talking with the medic droid. Luke was laid on a single bed in the far room. The fact that Luke was in a bay to himself was a rarity in this post-battle situation - usually the medical bays would be full of injured pilots. But not only was it several days since they had left the dying hulk of the ssi-ruuvi cruiser far behind, but the ssi-ruuk had done a good job of not leaving many survivors: the radioactive debris made certain of that. Leia, for herself, would have insisted in being in a bay like everyone else, had it been her in Luke's position, but her conscience wouldn't allow her to let Luke to be put in a one of those bays. Luke would admonish her for pulling rank, when he woke up. When he woke up. She smiled at that thought. Lying in the bed, unmoving, he didn't look any different. And through the Force he didn't feel any different, but somehow she knew he was going to wake soon. Han look at her, eyes scowling.   
  
"What is it?" She crossed the distance between them, passing by the foot of Luke's bed.   
  
"Ah, just a little disagreement." He said, gesturing to the droid with one hand and tucking the thumb of his other hand into the belt tag of his trousers.  
  
"Oh?" she raised her eyebrows and the droid answered her,  
  
"Master Solo believes I may not be telling him everything to do with _my_ patients condition." The droid said, decidedly annoyed. "I have told him everything I told Miss Mara Jade."  
  
Han scowled but Leia placed a cooling hand on his forearm. She turned back to the droid "What's happened that you told Mara Luke might wake?"  
  
The droid looked exasperated, as if the humans were taking this all too seriously. "His vital signs picked up. When you brought him in, you informed me that he was in a Jedi hibernation trance. His life signs were very different to what I would expect to see in a normal human. His life signs have returned to what I would expect." The droid said.   
  
Leia turned to look over at Luke "He's out of the trance?" She said, but even as she reached out to touch deeper into Luke's mind, she knew the droid was right. Maybe that was what she'd picked up earlier?   
  
Han stared at the droid for a moment before speaking "So, he's going to be all right?"   
  
Before the droid could answer, Mara stepped beside Luke's bed. "Leia?" She called softly.  
  
She reached a hand out and placed it one Luke's arm as Leia stepped over.   
  
"Luke?" His eyes fluttered slightly and she nearly held her breath. Slowly, he opened his eyes and blinked.   
  
"Hey." Mara said warmly.  
  
"Ouch." He said, his voice faint but strong. There was chuckle of laughter behind them and Leia looked over at Han as he stepped forward.   
  
"Kid just went through hell, and moans at a slight headache." He shook his head, laughing again. Luke grinned and Leia squeezed his hand,   
  
"How do you feel?" She asked. The medical droid moved closer to the readouts to Luke's left. He changed something, and Luke visibly relaxed.   
  
"I've felt better." He swallowed as his throat became dry and scratchy, "What happened?"  
  
Leia paused for a minute, and the too-onebee answered for her. "The implant suffered a massive overloading of its neural networking. We presume that there was a massive feedback from the ssi-ruuvi cruiser when it went down."   
  
"Feedback?" Luke asked, heaving himself up into a sitting position and waving back Leia's offer of help. He put a hand up to his head and tentatively touched the area where the implant should have been.   
  
Should have been: when they had rushed Luke in comatose, it had taken them a while to figure out just what had happened. When they had, they decided the only option was to remove it. Luke looked up questionably at Leia.  
  
"It's gone," she confirmed for him.   
  
He nodded, not showing any of the relief flooding out of him.   
  
The medic droid missed the moment and carried on with his explanation "The implant was interlaced with your neural pathways - it created a wave of impulses travelling throughout your nervous system.   
  
Luke shivered, remembering. "Kind of painful." He commented.   
  
"It caused massive calcification of your skeletal structure"   
  
"I thought it felt kind of familiar." He said, thinking back to the last Death Star.   
  
He shifted slightly on the bed and wince at the shivers of pain that ran up his legs. A wave of dizziness spread up with the pain and he bit down hard as the world suddenly began to spin. Leia said something but he didn't catch it. The droid must have done something - the pain began to ease, but he knew he was sinking back into unconsciousness. He tried to open his eyes but they were heavy, so heavy.   
  
"Leia," he tried to whisper through numb lips. Had that been a sedative the droid had injected? "Thanks." He slipped back into the still dark.  
  
  
---  
  
  
"You shouldn't be up yet."  
  
"I wanted to walk off the ship, not be carried off for once."   
  
Leia looked up and smiled at her brother. "Well just take it easy, else you won't get a choice." She said, turning back to stuffing the last of her clothes into a carryall.  
  
"Yes, ma'am," he said, giving her a mock salute. She chuckled, then zipped the bag shut before slinging it over her shoulder.   
  
"You ready?" She asked as she approached Luke. He _did_ look better. The pale colour was gone and his eyes gleamed again with intelligence and a sharp wit. But he was leaning heavily against the door, and he looked weary,   
  
"I travelled light." He said with a nod, "Han already on the _Falcon_?"  
  
She nodded as they left the quarters she'd been bunked in for the slow trip back to Coruscant. "Prepping her for flight," she answered,   
"She's not really ready for a long haul, not after the beating you put her through-"  
  
"-and you-"  
  
"Yeah, well, he didn't want to leave her here and take a shuttle down so he's doing what he does best."  
  
"Welding her together with hope and duct tape?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
They started to walk down the corridors, slowly making their way towards the docking bay. They talked a little, sharing the idle conversations that only true friends can enjoy. She noticed Luke walked slowly, and with a slightly forced gait. That would be gone soon, she knew; he just needed a bit more rest, like all of them.   
  
Crewmen dressed in Republic grey uniforms bustled past them, more than a few with cuts and gashes from the fighting. They saluted the Chief of State as they passed, giving a curt nod towards Luke as they recognised the Jedi Master. Luke responded in kind, but Leia, with her position as in the republic hierarchy, wasn't expected to respond. She frowned, mulling that over in her mind. She wasn't sure she was planning on being in that position for that much longer  
  
She sighed, deeply enough that she gained a curious glance from Luke.   
  
"What is it?" He asked. They had reached the end of the corridor and Leia paused in front of a lift door. She shrugged,  
  
"I've been thinking," she said, "After all this, running around the galaxy and then fighting the ssi-ruuk, I feel like"  
  
She paused not able to get the right words.  
  
"Like too little moisture spread over too much desert?"  
  
She laughed, remembering why she'd missed the company of her brother. "Definitely something like that," she agreed. They walked to the final turbolift and waited. Luke turned to her, his look concerned but his eyes smiling. He placed both hands onto her shoulders and looked at her with a gaze that held infinite empathy and understanding. The lights danced of his hair and Leia suddenly felt very small before him  
  
"Leia-" he began but she cut him off.  
  
"You know don't you?" she said. It wasn't a question.   
  
"You want to leave the senate?"   
  
She nodded as the turbolift door opened. "Only for a short time. I just need a rest. That's all. I thinkI think the arena has seen enough of me and.."  
  
"And you ran off without telling them?" he asked. Again, those eyes.  
  
"I didn't run off, Gaviscom was in charge." She said, struggling to keep a begging for forgiveness out of her voice. She didn't manage it well enough.  
  
"Leia, don't chastise yourself." He shook his head, taken his hands of her shoulders and throwing them up in the air. "I don't even want to think about how things would of turned out if you hadn't done what you did."  
  
"The senate see things in more shades of grey, Luke."  
  
"I know, that's political bodies for you."  
  
"And you're supposed to play by the rules. I didn't. I broke the rules." She shook her head again.  
  
He stared at her for minute more, "This isn't really about what they will say though is it?" he said.  
She looked up sharply "What?"  
  
"Leia," he flashed her a grin, "what do you want to do with your life?"  
  
She faltered for a minute, not sure how to answer, not sure what the answer was. "I don't know. I suppose I wanted happiness and freedom for us -for everyone."  
  
He nodded "And you've fought for it, all your life."   
  
"I've tried."   
  
"And you've succeeded, so what else do you need to do to get that happiness complete?"  
  
The lift door began to close, but Luke reached out and kept the open door button pressed. "What's left to make it absolute?"  
  
She stared down at the floor, her forehead creased. "I don't understand." She knew she did really, though  
  
"Leia, you've done it. You've got three wonderful children; you've made Chief of State and lead the Republic through the growing pains. You've got a decent and devoted man as your husband, and a group of friends that would stick by you through anything. What's left?"  
She sighed, "I suppose I am." She said.  
  
"Leia, you can't have that freedom if you don't allow yourself to be free." He said, "You've done it. Now enjoy it before the next crisis rears it's head."  
  
She looked back up at him "You think I should step down?" She asked. He wavered for a minute.   
  
"I don't know, I can't tell you that. Have you finished? Maybe just a break is what you need. When was the last time you kicked back and relaxed?"  
  
She laughed, but there wasn't any joy in it. She dragged a hand across her face and shook her head "The last few months, I haven't felt like really doing that." She said.  
  
She felt a pang of guilt from him, but he covered it quickly before she could pick up on it.   
  
"And now?" He asked.  
  
She smiled, "How come you always manage to get me round to your answer?"  
  
He shrugged "Must be because I'm right."  
  
"Right, you are. Except for one thing." She turned to him and placed a cautious hand on his sleeve. "Luke, I want you to listen to me now, because what I'm going to say I _mean_, more than anything."  
  
He pre-empted her, shaking his head. She didn't let him speak.  
  
"No, listen." She said, and then swallowed hard, "What happened wasn't your fault. There will be questions, but no one, when they know the truth, will blame you. It won't go any further than the military high command. It'll be locked up tight and hidden in a self-erasing file."  
  
He seemed about to say something so she squeezed his arm, "Luke, if you go blaming yourself, you'll spiral down and" she swallowed, not able to look into his eyes, "Luke, I don't want to loose you. Do you understand?" She stared intently at the floor "I can't loose you."  
  
He wavered for a minute and she felt salty tears roll slowly down her cheeks. His hand snaked around hers and he squeezed it   
  
"Leia-" he started, but the words seemed to catch in his throat. For a minute she fought he would turn away from her, but he didn't. He pulled her closer and into a hug. She laced her arms around his waist and accepted the hug.  
  
"Leia, we feel so close to what we lose. We'll never have to loose it again." He held her as brother and sister entered the turbolift and descended to the docking bay "I'm not going anywhere, I promise." 

  
  
Well, that's the end folks!! I hope it was a suitable oneplease email me any comments, I really enjoy reading them, and I'm writing an epilogue complete with common questions and answers that I will post tomorrow probably.


	9. Epilogue

Disclaimer: these arent my people. I don't have any people, so Im boring Lucas'.

This is the epilogue to my...umm...mammoth story. Its just to get Luke and Mara into the swing of things and to reference how what happened during those few months would have affected Luke. Enjoy and *please* review.

Thanks,

Mina - [][1]vikki18@totalise.co.uk

Abhoration and the Alternative

Epilogue - 3 Years Later

"New Republic ship, this is Coruscant Air Control. Submit your landing permit for the Imperial Palace now, please."  
  
"Air Control, I don't have a landing permit-"  
  
"Unidentified ship, you cannot land without a permit."   
  
"Control," Mara scowled "I can get permission but it would mean waking the Chief of State up."  
  
"President Gaviscom is away on a diplomatic-"  
  
"Not Gaviscom." Mara resisted the urge to throttle the comm "He's your acting COS, President Leia Organa Solo is much less tolerant of small officials who wake her up at unearthly hours." Mara whipped the shuttle into the row of traffic circling the palace.   
  
"Unidentified ship," Mara scowled in distaste at the name, ever since she'd lost the Fire she'd been flying random ships that came into her possession, usually with Luke by her side. "You do not have clearance- "  
  
For a minute she was tempted to reach out and the give the official a little nudge through the Force. Mara grinned to herself as she thought about the disapproving look Luke's face if she did just that. Before she could wipe the grin of her face and concentrate, there was a crackling on the comm and suddenly a strange voice followed by a sorely missed one filled her pickup.   
  
_Lieutenant, let the shuttle land._  
  
That was the strange voice, probably a senior officer stood behind her landing official. He questioned the other man's authority on letting an unknown shuttle land without a permit or transponder, but was cut short by the slightly anxious voice of his superior. As she was wondering what was happening, Luke's voice filled the pickup and a soppy grin spread across her face, making her glad the transmission wasn't on holo.   
  
"Lieutenant, I authorise that shuttle to land." Mara's sloppy grin got wider as she imagined the officer's face as he recognised Luke Skywalker.   
  
"The authorisation code is-"  
  
The lieutenant cut him off, which she had to admit, must have been a gutsy thing to do.   
  
"Sir, that isn't necessary." He said, even as a green light flashed on Mara's readout, giving her clearance to land.  
  
"I'm glad." Luke offered, and Mara couldn't keep quite any longer  
  
"Go easy on him, Luke. I'm sure he would have let me land eventually." There was just a touch of menace in her voice when she said it and the lieutenant heard it.  
  
"Uh yes, ma'am."   
  
Mara stifled a laugh. "Docking bay 117, Luke," she said.   
  
"Meet you there."  
  
From the background the stranger spoke up again, "Sir, shall I register that ship to Mara Jade Skywalker?"  
  
"No, leave it as it is," Luke's voice retreated from the comm and she pictured him retreating to the control room door. It occurred to her to ask him how he had known where she was but he was already out of the pickup.  
  
The lieutenant started a spool of apologies but Mara gently told him it was all right and headed down to her docking space, noticing how the nice officer had given her one near the lifts.   
  
  
---  
  
  
Luke was waiting for her when she reached the lift and she melted into his embrace. She held tight to him as he kept his hand around her waist and they moved towards his apartment on the capital world. She reached a hand up to her red-gold hair, undoing the braid and letting it fall around her shoulders. As they walked down the corridors, people smiled at the newly married couple, nodding in greeting to them. She didn't know any of them and barely recognised but a few, but everyone no longer saw her as the smuggler Mara Jade but as the Jedi Mara Jade Skywalker, also the wife of Luke Skywalker.   
  
They entered the apartment and Mara flopped down into the sofa (she had insisted Luke get some comfortable furniture and get rid of the minimalist style he'd had previously) and Luke wandered slowly over to the kitchen area.  
  
"Drink?"   
  
She savoured the sound of his voice, watching him walk as the lights through golden highlights across his hair.   
  
"Mmmm.I think..."  
  
"Hot chocolate?" He grinned at her as she nodded. She never did get tired of that smile. He finished making the hot drinks as she got up and changed out of her flight suit. When she came out of the bedroom combing her hair she found him staring blankly out of the window. She came up and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Hey, you awake?"  
  
"Yeah, I was just thinking"  
  
"You know that's bad for you." She quipped but didn't see as smile flicker at the corners of his mouth. "What's wrong?" she asked, edging herself between the window and him and staring up into his thoughtful eyes.  
  
He stared blankly at her for a moment and then shook his head, moving back to the sofa. He sat down heavily and she perched herself next to him.   
  
"I was justthinking." He said again, trying to make it an explanation. Mara shook he head not understanding.  
  
Suddenly he gazed up at her and smiled "How did we miss it?" He asked.  
  
"Luke, your plotting a course I'm not following."  
  
"After Slastare. At that mining colony. How did we miss it?"  
  
"Miss what?"  
  
"Us?"  
  
She looked at him then and leaned back into the sofa. " Ever heard the expression cant see the wood for the trees'??"  
  
He laughed lightly but she knew that wasn't the answer.  
  
"But that's not it is it? Why bring up the ssi-ruuk again?" He winced when she mentioned the invasion, some three years ago. Almost to the day, she realised.   
  
"Is that it? The ssi-ruuk?"  
  
He shuffled uncomfortably. "I got a call today."  
  
When he didn't say any more she prompted him "Who from?"   
  
He sighed deeply, placing the mug onto one of the small tables, "One of the inhabitants of Slastare."  
  
She bristled slightly "Luke, listen to me, what happened-"  
  
He shook his head "Mara, you don't understand." He looked up at her and she could see the confusion in his eyes "She _thanked_ me."   
  
Mara sat for a moment, thinking. "Why wouldn't she? You helped get rid of the ssi-ruuk from their planet."  
  
"I brought them there you mean."  
  
"Luke-"  
  
"No, it's alright. I didn't really I mean that, it just. Well, I suppose it brought up old feelings," he said.   
  
She moved closer and tucked a strand of hair back from his eyes. "Good, because it's not bad to think about these things. So long as you don't give the past too much control on the present, and the future. Because there is a future you know. There's us, and there's the Jedi and maybe more?"  
  
He looked up at her and a sly grin crossed her face "Maybe?"  
  
"We wouldn't be talking about children here would we?"  
  
"I just dropped Jaina off on Malistare and" she shifted in her seat.  
  
Luke grinned at her "Mara Jade? Broody?!?"   
  
She punched him playfully in the ribs. "Well, yeah. Were not as young as-" she cut off mid sentence, gasping as a sudden rushing sound filled her ears. Before she could speak, the world began to black out around her. Luke was quick, catching her before she had a chance to fall. She could feel the soft fabric of his top against her cheek, but could hear or see nothing.   
  
Luke shook her gently, driving down panic. He knew she was still conscious, and gently reached out with the Force. She came awake with a gasp, but didn't move in his arms.   
  
"Mara?" He asked tensely.  
  
"Luke? What happened?"   
  
"I was hoping you were going to tell me." She levered herself up from his arms and leaned back into the sofa.  
  
"I felt like I don't know. So weak." Her voice was faint but strong.   
  
He stood up and offered her a hand to lever herself up with. She gave him a confused look, and stood without his help. He placed a hand around her waist and guided her towards the door.  
  
"Where are we going?" She asked suspiciously.   
  
"Medical centre." He said, his voice firm. He knew her well enough to know her aversion to being sheltered. She seemed about to protest but instead just followed him.   
  
"You might be right." She said.   
  
Luke stopped and turned to stare at her, surprised by her agreement. "Mara?" He asked, maybe more worried than he had been when she'd fainted.   
  
"I don't know." 

That really is the endI hope you enjoyed the ride as much as I did

**Author's notes and FAQ:**

**Q.** You have Han and Leia at odds with each other at the beginning: since when has that happened?

**A.** I'm working on the theory that the yevethra crisis was traumatic enough to cause a few minor, temporary rifts. 

**Q.** Ah, and what about Luke on a diplomatic mission? Not very Jedi Master-like.

**A.** Again - the Black Fleet Crisis has him tell Leia he's going to get more involved in her life. I take this as a step in that direction.

**Q.** Luke's drugging: nice plot device that. Can't see it actually happening though.

**A.** I had a problem with that, but I think the spice thing solves it, if you use your imagination.

**Q.** While we're on that subject, what were all those voices he heard?

**A.** It was the drug talking, working on his insecurities.

**Q.** Leia used the alias Antilles' in the hotel. Like that's not obvious.

**A.** Antilles is the gffa Smith' - Wedge Antilles, Captain Antilles, Bail Antilles(in TPM) so it's not so unfeasible.

**Q.** Hang on, this is all very nice but the ssi-ruuk we're destroyed by the NR taskforce ages before this is set. 

**A.** Wellyeah. That was published in the Essential Chronology and conceived of by KJA, whose ideas I tend to try and forget anyway ;) I guess it's a matter of giving them more closure.

**Q.** More closure, eh? But you left the Imperium intact.

**A.** I know; I don't like things to be tied up in little packages

**Q.** Why didn't we get to see more of Rogue Squadron? Surely they'd be more heavily involved

**A.** The simple answer is I hadn't read the x-wing books before writing this. If you want a nicer answer Ill tell you it was because I didn't know who was still with the squadron at that time

**Q.** Okay, next point. This is a biggie: Qui-Gon doesn't disappear in TPM

**A.** Neither does Luke - they only think he has when they don't find a body, and since most of the history of the Jedi has been lost, how are they going to know it doesn't happen to all Jedi? Beside, New Rebellion hinted that Luke knew how to do the disappearing act ala Ben Kenobi, so it would be natural to assume that's what happened.

**Q** What's all that stuff about the drugs as a diversion?

**A.** I made it up in order to knock a Jedi out. Bite me.

**Q.** I don't believe Luke wouldn't be able to escape during his time on ssi-ruuvi ship. He could have broken the restraints.

**A.** Not if there was nothing to break: I'm working on the assumption that there were no seams. Think the bad terminator in T2.

**Q.** Uh-huhokay. Your plot centres on the implant working in all forms of ssi-ruuvi technology, droids and all. Is that really likely?

**A.** Are lightsabers?

**Q.** What happened to Borak's brother?

**A.** I never really thought about itpossible sequel materiel I suppose

**Q.** And the guard on the door he shoots?

**A**. Well dead.

**Q**. Mara seems to hang around an awful lot. Why?

**A.** I'm saying that all this is happening in Karrde's area of space, so he'll be interested in what's going on. Plus, there's the whole Luke + Mara thing to come in VotF. 

**Q.** Didn't you get sick of beating poor Luke up?

**A.** Well, I felt a little cruel sometimes, but I felt this is what would happen: I have to write it like this otherwise no one will ever believe me.

**Q.** Was the _elite_ using the darkside?

**A.** Hmmm... again, might be sequel material there.

**Q.** What's with all the Leonard Cohen quotes?

**A.** What can I say? The man is inspirational.

**Q.** Any chance of a sequel?

**A.** That really depends on if I get positive reviews to this first.

Wellthere you go. I hope that answers everything: email me any questions you like and I'll see if I can clear them up.

Thanks, and watch for new stories asap.

Mina.

   [1]: mailto:vikki18@totalise.co.uk



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